Yetter Coleman won a $400 million judgment for Energy Transfer against the San Antonio utility in the largest gas pricing dispute arising from Winter Storm Uri. After a five-year legal battle and 3-week bench trial in San Antonio state court, the court found that the utility breached contracts with Energy Transfer and rejected a challenge that the gas prices were unenforceable.
Dispute.
Winter Storm Uri hit Texas hard in early 2021. Gas supply across the state plummeted, demand surged, and prices spiked. CPS Energy scrambled to find gas from its many suppliers at the then storm-elevated prices. Energy Transfer proved to be CPS’s most dependable supplier, delivering more natural gas to the utility than any other seller. Even at prices as high as $500 per MMBtu, the gas was critical to CPS, which burned gas in its power plants to generate electricity. It planned to sell excess power on the wholesale market, where regulators fixed prices at even higher prices. But its plants suffered a series of shutdowns during the storm. CPS did not make enough power to meet its own needs, and it was forced to buy wholesale power off the grid.
After the storm, CPS refused to settle its contracts. It accused Energy Transfer and other suppliers of unlawful price gouging. Relying on an economist, CPS presented a “maximum legal price” for natural gas of $38 per MMBtu, beyond which it declined to pay on its contracts. Relying on that position, CPS short-paid Energy Transfer and its other suppliers and then sued them in its hometown courts in San Antonio. It sought rulings that any price above its price cap was legally unconscionable and violated Texas public policy. In turn, Energy Transfer sued for breach of contract. Every supplier settled with CPS except Energy Transfer and one other.
Trial.
Over a hard-fought trial before Hon. Laura Salinas, our team methodically dismantled CPS’s price-gouging narrative. We showed that the parties’ contracts were negotiated, arm’s-length agreements entered into by sophisticated parties who fully understood the price, volume, and delivery terms, with senior CPS executives authorizing each deal. We proved that CPS itself expected to profit from the gas it later refused to pay for, and its maximum-price theory ignored the realities of the gas market during a climate crisis. We showed that CPS’s losses flowed from its own choices, including relying too heavily on the volatile spot gas market during the storm.
The court was convinced. It found that the prices Energy Transfer charged CPS during the storm were consistent with market rates; the parties’ gas contracts were valid, “not unconscionable and must be enforced”; and CPS breached the contracts. The court entered judgment for Energy Transfer for the full amount of $263.7 million in unpaid invoices, $119.1 million in contract interest, and $9.4 million in attorney fees, for a total judgment of $393 million. Our client was gratified to be redeemed by this resounding win.
Our team was led by Energy Transfer Assistant General Counsel Jessica Sykora. The Yetter Coleman team included Bryce Callahan, Paul Yetter, Tyler Young, Mollie Bracewell, Alishan Alibhai, and Daisy Gray, along with co-counsel Emma Cano of Jefferson Cano in San Antonio.
Media Links.
https://sanantonioreport.org/cps-energy-400m-2021-winter-storm-gas-contract-dispute/
https://texaslawbook.net/energy-transfer-winter-storm-uri-judgment/
https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/cps-energy-winter-storm-2021-lawsuit-22183242.php
https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/energy/articles/judge-signals-cps-energy-loss-180829101.html
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/cps-energy-pay-around-400m-winter-storm-uri-gas/824589/
https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/cps-energy-pay-around-400m-111243160.html
https://www.law.com/litigationdaily/2026/07/10/litigator-of-the-week-runners-up-and-shout-outs/