Oklahoma Could be Facing High Utility Bills Due to Winter Storm

Last week's winter storm wreaked havoc on Oklahoma with record low freezing temperatures and tons of snow and ice. We're finally on the other side of it, but the effects will continue to linger for months to come. Now that everything is starting to thaw out and melt way a lot of people, myself included, are very worried about next month's electric bill. There's rumors and rumblings of massive price hikes due to the storm and energy shortages across the state. Gov. Stitt addressed this yesterday and met with state leaders and legislators to discuss the issue, develop a plan to assist Oklahomans and prevent future power shortages.

Prior to the storm Gov. Stitt declared a state weather emergency and a disaster declaration has already been approved to enlist Federal assistance to help the state recover. The first rumors of serious price hikes for power came from Texas, and now Oklahoma. With the power shortage caused by the storms utility companies had to purchase additional emergency power at extremely high prices. This will unfortunately be passed along to the consumer. So how bad, or high will the bills be? We'd all like an answer to that question, but be prepared for higher utilities next month. Maybe even the month after that too.

The state is also working on plans to help with financial resources or aid to help Oklahomans pay their upcoming electric bill. That should let you know things are pretty serious and that there's a good chance you'll see a high bill over the next few months. Gov. Stitt also announced that they would investigate any price gouging and ensure that the power companies were playing fair and that consumers aren't being taken advantage of. The state will also investigate why all this happened and what steps can be taken to avoid something like this happening again.

In the meantime it is advised that you cancel any auto-pay options with your current electric provider, that could be PSO (Public Service Company of Oklahoma) or Cotton Electric if you live in Lawton, Fort SIll or the surrounding area. By doing away with the auto-pay option it will help you avoid a shocking withdrawal from your account if the bills get as high as they're thinking they might.