State handling of 2021 winter storm bills questioned
VOICE participated in a press conference Nov. 1 calling for an investigation into how elected officials, regulators, and public utilities handled the bills arising from the Feb. 2021 winter storm:
“Our major utilities purchased more than $4.5 billion in natural gas in a few days, which is more than they do in a year” [began Nick Singer.]
“Instead of investigating price gouging, clawing back excessive profits or demanding that utilities that were ill-prepared for winter weather pay for part of this burden, the government of Oklahoma passed that burden on to us in securitization laws, which adds additional fees to our utility bills for the next 25-plus years.” . . .
Singer said an investigation by his group implicated those at the highest level of state government.
“They knew that price gouging, profiteering and market manipulation were the real problems, but everyone jumps to ‘How we are going to pay for this?’” Singer said. . . .
Eric Jergensen with Voices Organized in Civic Engagement said his organization put together a committee to look at the issue before the snow had melted.
“We were concerned about the words we had heard about these high prices coming, and sure enough those concerns played out,” he said. “What we see in this event is not so much purchasing gas but a massive wealth transfer between the population of Oklahoma as a whole and a few well-placed individuals. The adults in the room did nothing to stop it.”