The emergency order approved this week by Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners directing utilities to prioritize the delivery of natural gas to their customers came days after regulators in Kansas did the same.
The Kansas Corporation Commission issued an emergency on Sunday, February 15, a day after Gov. Laura Kelly had issued a State of Disaster Emergency.
The KCC in its order confirmed it was aware that a wholesale natural gas price increase from 10 to 100 times higher than normal would “eventually flow through to consumers” through increased monthly natural gas and electric bills.
As a result, the regulators exercised their powers to protect the public from immediate danger to health, safety and welfare. They quickly approved the order taking the same kind of steps that Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners eventually did. But they added a cautionary note regarding the costs.
They authorized the utilities that incurred extraordinary costs to defer the costs in order to ensure that customers continue to receive utility service. The KCC said the deferral was for accounting purposes only and that “any decisions related to ratepayer recovery will be addressed in future proceedings.”
The Kansas Corporation Commission’s order made it clear that once the 2021 Winter Weather Event ended and all costs were accumulated and recorded, the utilities were to file a compliance report. They were also directed to “present a plan to minimize the financial impacts of this event on ratepayers over a reasonable time frame.”