Saturday, October 3, 2026 • Slight chance of rain. Cool. 73-74. ☔

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By Paul Monies, Oklahoma Watch
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The mystery around why Oklahoma utility customers paid so much more for natural gas during a massive winter storm in 2021 is one step closer to being solved. 

Two recent legal developments, one federal and one state, put a protracted lawsuit back on track after years of wrangling over jurisdiction, document production and how natural gas is traded and transported during an emergency. 

Winter Storm Uri blanketed the midsection of the country in February 2021. Extremely cold temperatures spiked demand for natural gas for both electricity generation and heating. Natural gas prices at regional trading hubs used by Oklahoma utilities and other customers ballooned to more than $1,200 per thousand cubic feet, up from less than $3 in the weeks before the storm. 

Customers of Oklahoma’s largest regulated utilities are paying back billions in fuel costs incurred during the storm, plus interest on bonds sold to cover those costs. Most residential customers are paying between $5 and $15 per month in extra bill charges for the next two decades. 

Last week, regulators at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission declined to weigh in on whether the natural gas sold for electricity and heating during the storm stayed within Oklahoma or crossed state lines. Then a district judge in Osage County on Monday ruled in favor of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who alleged NextEra Energy Marketing LLC and others engaged in market manipulation and price gouging. 

Although NextEra is likely to appeal, Osage County District Judge Stuart Tate said he’d seen enough evidence to rule the company violated the state’s emergency price and consumer protection laws. He approved the state’s motion for partial summary judgment and said a trial would determine how much NextEra should pay in damages. 

Any judgments or settlements from the winter storm natural gas lawsuits would go toward the amounts outstanding in the ratepayer-backed storm bonds, minus outside attorney fees and expenses. 

NextEra representatives did not respond to a request for comment. 

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