AG Drummond Wins Lawsuit over Excessive Natural Gas Prices During Winter Storm Uri
The ruling sets up a trial to determine damages after the judge found the company violated Oklahoma price-stabilization and consumer-protection laws.
- An Osage County District Court judge ruled this week that NextEra Energy Marketing is liable for price-gouging during Winter Storm Uri, finding the company violated Oklahoma's Emergency Price Stabilization Act and the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act.
- Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed the 2023 lawsuit, arguing that the 2021 deep freeze created "the ideal conditions for entities to engage in price manipulation" by providing a pretext for supply shortages.
- Prices surged from about $2.55 per unit to $1,200 during the five-day storm, according to the state investigation; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected NextEra's request to move the case to federal court on September 23.
- The court will now hold a trial to determine the specific damages NextEra must pay to compensate Oklahomans; this decision puts other companies targeted in the state's litigation on notice that they could be held liable.
- Residents continue paying for the storm through monthly utility bill additions, as companies sold bond debt to cover price spikes. Drummond stated his office will keep fighting to "recover every dollar possible for the Oklahomans exploited during the emergency.
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Oklahoma Watch
communityq.comFive Years Later, Oklahoma’s Winter Storm Natural Gas Fight Heads Toward Trial
Five years after Winter Storm Uri sent natural gas prices above $1,200 per thousand cubic feet, Oklahoma's lawsuits targeting alleged market manipulation are heading toward trial. A federal regulator declined jurisdiction and an Osage County judge ruled against NextEra Energy Marketing, setting the stage for a trial that the next attorney general will inherit.
NextEra liable for price-gouging during Winter Storm Uri, Oklahoma judge rules
Drummond wins Winter Storm Uri ruling after large energy firm broke law
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - An Osage County judge has granted a motion for partial summary judgment against NextEra Energy Marketing in a lawsuit filed by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. The ruling found the company liable for charging excessive prices for natural gas during Winter Storm Uri. The court determined that NextEra Energy Marketing violated [...]
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