Evergy customers to see bills rise after deal approved to recoup Winter Storm Uri costs
Most Evergy customers in Kansas will see their bills rise slightly to help the company pay off higher-than-expected costs during a historic February 2021 cold snap under a deal approved Thursday by state regulators.
Under the agreement, Evergy Central customers, which includes Topeka, Manhattan and Wichita, will see a monthly $2.82 charge for two years on average, starting in April, 2023.
The move is an attempt to recoup what the company has estimated at $153 million in extraordinary costs due to record low temperatures across the Great Plains. The deep freeze prompted a historic spike in natural gas costs for utilities, local governments and other entities.
Kansas Metro customers in and around the Kansas City area will actually see their costs fall by $6.60 per month for a year, due to the sale of surplus power to the regional grid.
More: Could rising temperatures across Kansas lead to rolling blackouts this summer?
Large businesses said industrial ratepayers bear too much burden
The deal was criticized by a group of large businesses, arguing it would ultimately burden industrial ratepayers to help shield residents from a greater impact. They also argued it was unlawful to calculate the repayment based on future power use, rather than the past.
"Accordingly, a reasonable and fair allocation of costs from Winter Storm Uri is to
assign costs to those classes which caused the costs to be incurred," a group of opponents argued in a brief filed in May.
But the Kansas Corporation Commission ultimately dismissed those concerns and approved the request unanimously as it "strikes the proper balance between the interests of Evergy's investors and the ratepayers."
"I'm a believer that there is not just one just and reasonable outcome in these rate cases, but it is our job to find the most just and reasonable outcome available," Commissioner Andrew French said during a meeting Thursday.
More: As Roe v. Wade decision looms, Kansas abortion amendment opponents try to gain traction
Evergy would be held to account on price-gouging investigations, lawsuits
The agreement requires Evergy to pass along to ratepayers any funds recouped from state or federal price-gouging investigations or lawsuits over gas prices.
After a months-long request for proposal process, Attorney General Derek Schmidt's office signed a contract in January with a Florida law firm to explore potential litigation into price gouging.
Under the arrangement with Morgan & Morgan, a self-described personal injury firm in Jacksonville, the firm would receive between 10% and 20% of the ultimate payout if any funds were to be recovered.
A spokesperson for Schmidt said he could not comment on the matter further, as it involved a pending investigation.
Andrew Bahl is a senior statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at abahl@gannett.com or by phone at 443-979-6100.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: After Winter Storm Uri, Evergy customers will see electric bills rise
