By Janelle Stecklein/ CNHI State Reporter Apr 12, 2021
4 hrs ago
A worker clears snow from the sidewalk Tuesday in anticipation of another round of snow headed to Norman. Kyle Phillips The Transcript
OKLAHOMA CITY â Oklahoma lawmakers plan to propose legislation that would help shelter consumers and utility companies from the more than $4.5 billion in energy generation costs as a result of Februaryâs winter storm.
Under the legislative measures expected to be filed this week, state Sen. James Leewright, R-Bristow, said state leaders plan to propose securitizing the debt incurred during the two-week winter storm that sent natural gas prices skyrocketing.
Oklahoman
Oklahoma s lawmakers are hoping to minimize the impact of February s severe weather on consumers and prevent exorbitant rate spikes for households.
Power providers conservatively spent billions of extra dollars to keep energy flowing to customers during this latest storm. This meant customers could see astronomical increases in their bills if utilities passed their costs along to consumers in the usual way.
For example, before the storm, an average residential customer of a regulated natural gas utility was paying about $100 a month for service, said Brandy Wreath, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission s legislative liaison.
That same average customer could have faced a bill of $1,967 during the first month of a traditional repayment term, and could have expected to see similarly high bills for another seven months because providers are required to retire additional costs incurred during a storm in a relatively short period of time.
Oklahoman
This cost energy providers billions.
In the storm s aftermath, regulated utilities, electric cooperatives and power authorities across Oklahoma await final energy transaction tabulations from the Southwest Power Pool, operator of the regional grid, to determine just how much they owe.
But regulated utilities in Oklahoma are already approaching banks and investors for short-term financial help.
Those regulated utilities are seeking to recover their costs with customers help.
To do this, plans to retire what s owed must be approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission on a case-by-case basis.
Most consumers across Oklahoma are expected to see bill increases as a result of the storm, but just how big and how long those will last depend on all three of these pending issues.
Booneville Democrat
The city of Paris buys energy from a solar farm located in town, and the power accounts for 5% to 10% of all the electricity that the town uses.
“It’s using what God gave us to power our community, Mayor Daniel Rogers said.
Approximately 70% of the power that Paris uses comes from hydroelectricity and solar energy.
“I just think that’s amazing, Rogers said.
The city has been using solar energy since about July with Today s Power, a subsidiary of Arkansas Electric Cooperative, said Randy Hatcher, the city s electric superintendent.
Today s Power spent approximately $250,000 building the site, which included replacing old power line poles from the city, Rogers said.