cold snap

Kansas condo board says it’s being forced to pay twice for gas used during 2021 winter storm

BY: - September 19, 2023

For an Overland Park condo association, the next natural gas bill after a historic cold snap more than two years ago was stunning. Pinebrooke Condominium Subdivision Association, in Overland Park, typically paid about $4,500 for its members’ monthly bills. But its February 2021 bill came to more than $280,000. It settled and paid 75% of […]

Lawsuits take aim at BP for ‘unconscionable’ prices during 2021 cold snap in Kansas

BY: - September 13, 2023

BP Energy and other suppliers took advantage of a historic cold snap two years ago to sell natural gas at hundreds of times its normal price, two class action lawsuits filed in Kansas allege. The lawsuits, which name a combined eight companies in the natural gas supply chain, allege defendants violated the Kansas Consumer Protection […]

Kansas regulators approve natural gas utility’s plan to recoup $366 million from customers

BY: - February 8, 2022

Customers of Kansas’ largest natural gas utility will see their bills go up in the wake of last winter’s deep freeze — but it’s still unclear by how much and for how long.  Kansas regulators on Tuesday approved an agreement with the Kansas Gas Service to recoup $366 million in excess natural gas costs, incurred […]

Tiny Kansas town of Alma sued by natural gas supplier over $172K charge from February cold snap

BY: - December 16, 2021

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A tiny town in Kansas’ Flint Hills is being sued by its natural gas supplier for failing to pay more than $170,000 in charges from the extreme cold snap that gripped the Midwest 10 months ago. Bluemark Energy, an Oklahoma-based natural gas marketer, filed suit against Alma — population 802 — […]

Kansas natural gas utility nears deal to pass on $100M in cold snap costs to wholesale customers

BY: - October 12, 2021

Kansas’ largest natural gas utility is close to reaching a deal to recoup more than $100 million from large-scale customers that failed to provide enough natural gas during a February cold snap that forced power outages across the Midwest. During the worst of the cold snap, which saw average temperatures in Kansas City fall below […]

KS gas utility won’t release invoices detailing winter prices, but some data is already available

BY: - September 23, 2021

Kansas’ largest natural gas utility has resisted releasing records about what suppliers charged it during the historic cold snap in February that saw prices rise by more than 200 times. But according to a new filing, it has already disclosed much of that information.  In February, when temperatures in Kansas City plunged below 15 degrees […]

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican candidate for governor, issued a nonbinding legal opinion saying the Legislature had authority to delay preparations to rebid the $4 billion contracts with KanCare providers until 2024 rather than 2023.. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)

AG says winter natural gas price spikes ‘appear to violate Kansas law,’ seeks help for investigation

BY: - September 13, 2021

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office is seeking outside legal help to investigate huge spikes in natural gas prices this winter, signaling the state could consider suing over the disaster. Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office announced in a news release Monday that it planned to hire a law firm with expertise in the natural gas market […]

Kansas regulators opt against subpoena in investigation of natural gas price spikes

BY: - September 9, 2021

Kansas energy regulators will not issue a subpoena in what attorneys representing large-scale natural gas customers hoped would be an investigation into potential price-gouging during a devastating February storm. The Kansas Corporation Commission decided unanimously on Thursday not to subpoena S&P Global Platts Gas Daily, denying a motion from industrial groups alleging “overwhelming circumstantial evidence […]

As economic impact of winter storm nears $1B, some large Kansas customers want to investigate

BY: - August 15, 2021

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The total cost from a more than week-long cold snap that brought the Midwest power supply to the brink of collapse is nearly $1 billion — and growing. The greatest breakdown during the storm, which forced controlled electrical blackouts in Kansas and Missouri, industry groups have said, was natural gas, which […]

Customers of Kansas’ largest natural gas utility could pay cold snap costs for 10 years

BY: - July 30, 2021

Customers of Kansas’ largest natural gas utility could be paying off costs from February’s deep freeze for the next 10 years, the company revealed Friday. The Kansas Gas Service, which serves more than 640,000 Kansas customers, filed plans with regulators to issue securitized bonds for approximately $390 million in extraordinary costs from the cold snap […]

Black Hills monthly bills could go up $14.50 under requests filed with Kansas regulators

BY: - July 28, 2021

Black Hills Energy customers could have to pay another $14.50 per month under two separate rate hikes the company has proposed to Kansas regulators. The natural gas utility, which serves more than 117,000 Kansas customers in 50 counties, filed in May with the Kansas Corporation Commission for a $10.2 million increase to customers’ base rates […]