Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach made an unprecedented move this week—he sued a natural gas company and accused it of manipulating prices during the 2021 winter storm that also drove energy prices to sky high limits in Oklahoma.
Kobach filed suit against Macquarie Energy LLC of Houston and accused if of manipulating the price of natural gas at a key hub along the Southern Star Gas Central Pipeline. The lawsuit charged Macquarie of buying gas for next-day delivery on Feb. 16, 2021 “at the single highest price ever paid for Southern Star natural gas,” reported Bloomberg.
Oklahoma’s former attorney general John O’Connor promised an investigation following the severe weather that resulted in rolling blackouts in the state. But no suits or charges were ever filed.
Based on recent comments by current Attorney General Gentner Drummond, it would seem Oklahoma will not follow in the steps of the Kansas Attorney General.
“I don’t think it’s the role of the attorney general to dictate to the utilities on how they consume or purchase their fuel,” said Drummond in an interview with Oklahoma Watch. His comments were reported last week by OK Energy Today.
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