its pain.
With its ill-equipped natural gas systems clocked by the cold, Texas’s exports across the Rio Grande froze up and 4.7 million customers in northern Mexico went without electricity more than in Texas itself. The spot price of gas jumped 30-fold as far west as Southern California. And all the way up by the Canadian border, gas utilities in Minnesota that turned to the daily spot market to meet demand say they had to pay about $800 million more than planned over the course of just five days as the Texas freeze-up pinched off supplies.
“The ineptness and disregard for common-sense utility regulation in Texas makes my blood boil and keeps me up at night,” Katie Sieben, chairwoman of the Minnesota Public Utility Commission, said in an interview. “It is maddening and outrageous and completely inexcusable that Texas’s lack of sound utility regulation is having this impact on the rest of the country.”
Why Minnesota faces $800 million in extra gas bills from Texas freeze in February washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
How a deep freeze in the South burned Minnesotan consumers Minnesota utilities made a losing bet on natural gas markets, leaving customers on the hook for higher prices. April 17, 2021 8:00am Text size Copy shortlink:
When a deep freeze hit the South in February, the natural gas market essentially failed Minnesotans, leaving them on the hook for an unprecedented $800 million in extra charges.
Under state law, utilities pass down wholesale gas costs, which skyrocketed in February. Many Minnesota consumers will pony up at least 50% more than they pay annually for their heating bills.
Customers of CenterPoint Energy, the state s largest gas utility, will be hit the hardest: $354 for the average residential household. The state s second- and third-largest gas utilities, Xcel Energy and MERC, expect surcharges of $270 and between $225 to $250, respectively.
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Minnesotans will pay up to $400 more for their February heating bills because of the spike in U.S. gas prices after a historic cold wave hit the South.
That was the word Tuesday from the state s largest gas utilities at a special meeting called by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to examine the surge in gas prices. The PUC voted to start a formal investigation. We have many questions and few concrete answers, said Katie Sieben, the PUC s chairwoman.
The big gas charge incurred in February won t start showing up on consumers bills until September. The cost would normally be spread over 12 months. Regulators might look at spreading it over a longer period of time.