Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly takes questions from media following Wednesday’s proclamation ceremony honoring Winfield Early Childhood Educator Tabatha Rosproy, who was named the 2020 National Teacher of the Year last May. (Courtesy photo)
WINFIELD — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Wednesday any findings of natural gas price gouging experienced by municipalities during February’s historic cold snap would likely drag out via court cases.
Kelly, who was in Winfield Wednesday morning to sign a proclamation honoring USD 465’s Tabatha Rosproy for her selection as the 2020 National Teacher of the Year, answered questions from media following the ceremony.
“I can’t tell you what the ramifications of them finding price gouging, you know, then it clearly, likely, would be a legal issue and it would go to the courts and we would have to let the courts work it out,” Kelly said.
When asked if municipalities would have to file lawsuits if that were the case, Kelly said it was too early to say.
“I don’t know, we’re not there, so I really can’t give you an answer,” she said.
Last week, the City of Winfield announced it will be spreading the cost hike of natural gas during the cold snap via increased bills over six years. The City said over the course of the six-year period, the increase amounts to about $29 per month for an average user.
During the coldest days of the February freeze, the City of Winfield says it racked up a natural gas bill of $13 million in less than a week. Typically, the City says annual purchases of natural gas for customers amounts to $1.6 million.
Because of increased demand during the cold snap — a period that saw 12-straight days of below freezing and subzero temperatures in Cowley County — the City said it had to resort to an increase of daily natural gas purchases.
But, daily index market trading for natural gas skyrocketed during the cold snap.
The City said typical daily index pricing had natural gas at roughly $3/MMBtu. During the cold snap, prices per unit of natural gas shot up as high as $428 for the City of Winfield.
Cumbernauld Village Executive Director Linda Voth, right, speaks with Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Winfield’s Tabatha Rosproy and Cumbernauld Village residents Jesse Hatfield and Clyde Vasey, following Wednesday’s ceremony. (Photo by Brady Bauman)
While the City urged customers to ease its consumption of natural gas during the cold snap, City Manager Taggart Wall said at the time refusing to purchase more natural gas would have resulted in deaths due to subzero temperatures and infrastructure damage if supply ran out.
Kelly, a Democrat, said the state is working at the federal level to find answers when it comes to utility bill hikes.
“We are very concerned about that,” she said. “We have, just within the state, taken our low income energy program and have expanded eligibility for that to help out more people who were hit with some pretty astronomical bills. So, we’ve got that going. And then we are working with the Federal Energy Regulatory (Commission) to find out what happened here.
“We’ve got to figure out how to deal with it, immediately, with people whose bills are outrageous. We have to figure out what happened and why was this allowed to happen.
“I’m hoping FERC will investigate and come up with some solutions so this never happens again.”
Freshman U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) told KSOK-NewsCow Monday record natural gas spikes experienced by municipalities like Winfield during February’s cold snap will weigh on his mind if legislation on the issue ever comes to the Senate floor.
