The state’s gas utilities are seeking to recover $800 million for a huge February price run-up; AG says they shouldn’t be able to collect $380 million of that.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office has concluded that the state’s utilities mismanaged natural gas procurement after a historic winter storm in the South, leading them to overbill their customers for $380 million in wholesale gas costs.
The office said Wednesday it is recommending the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) allow utilities to recover only 53% of the roughly $800 million in costs they are trying to pass down to consumers, saying the companies could have reduced their wholesale gas bills during the run-up — but failed to do so.
“While Minnesota utilities did not cause Winter Storm Uri or the run-up in natural gas prices, they should have reacted forcefully to the pricing emergency and used every tool at their disposal to reduce costs,” Ellison said in a statement. Continue reading.