Oklahomans can expect to see bigger utility bills next month as they pay for additional energy used to get through February’s brutal winter weather.
And no one should be surprised. As temperatures plummeted, energy needs spiked.
But state leaders offered assurances to worried consumers Monday most won’t see Texas-size amounts when they open those bills.
Most consumers of electricity and natural gas within Oklahoma are served by companies, electrical cooperatives, municipal systems and other sanctioned power providers regulated by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission or Oklahoma’s Legislature.
Legislative leaders, agency representatives and Gov.
Oklahoma’s Secretary of Energy and Environment Kenneth Wagner said the “vast majority” of Oklahomans will not see a “dramatic increase” in their energy bills following last week’s winter storm in
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HOUSTON (Reuters) - In Spring, Texas, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Houston, Akilah Scott-Amos is staring down a more than $11,000 electric bill for this month, a far cry from her $34 bill at this time last year.
FILE PHOTO: An electrical substation is seen after winter weather caused electricity blackouts in Houston, Texas, U.S. February 20, 2021. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
“What am I going to do?” Scott-Amos, 43, said. She was among the millions of Texas residents who lost power during several days of bitter cold that caused the state’s electrical grid, operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, to break down. “I guess the option is, what, I’ll pay it? I just don’t feel like we should have to.”
By Stephanie Kelly, Peter Szekely and Jennifer Hiller HOUSTON (Reuters) - In Spring, Texas, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Houston, Akilah Scott-Amos.