Blogs

Following the extreme weather in the central U.S. over President’s Day Weekend, APGA has requested that the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources conduct hearings on the abnormal price hikes on natural gas and the ensuing financial crisis in several states. APGA believes a congressional investigation is in the public interest and will further help to determine whether the market operated in a manner consistent with the public good, whether laws were broken and what, if any, measures could be put in place to prevent this from happening in the future.

From February 11 to the 18, wholesale natural gas prices increased by 100 to 300 times in several states, including Texas. Amid the extreme cold, APGA members continued to serve their communities by purchasing increased quantities for deliveries at historic daily spot prices. Public natural gas systems were forced to purchase gas at inflated prices or pay steeper pipeline penalties. In one state, a joint action agency expended three times its annual gas purchasing budget just to buy gas for its customers for four days.

APGA remains a resource for our members, and staff continues to explore potential avenues for relief to best support impacted communities. Additional actions APGA has taken in response to this emergency can be found here. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions or to share your own experiences.

The letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee can be found here and the one to Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee can be found here.

For questions on this article, please contact Renée Lani of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-0836 or by email at rlani@apga.org.