Southwest Power Pool hopes to prevent utility cost spikes

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An executive with the corporation that oversees the electric grid across 14 states in the nation’s midsection says they are taking steps to prevent future weather-related spikes in utility costs.

Lanny Nickell with the Southwest Power Pool updated Oklahoma regulators on Tuesday with actions the company is taking following a severe winter storm earlier this year. Nickell says a bitter cold freeze that descended on the region in February, combined with a spike in natural gas prices, forced the company to shut off power to some consumers.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is still working to determine how much Oklahoma consumers will have to pay as a result of the skyrocketing utility costs.