It will literally take the city of Eskridge a decade to offset the energy costs associated with February’s brutal cold.
The Kansas Corporation Commission approved the town’s plan to recover those weather event costs. The plan includes a separate charge for the town’s utility customers of $2.54 per 1,000 cubic feet for gas usage. Those charges will help Eskridge make payments on a 10-year, low-interest loan from the Kansas State Treasurer’s Office.
Eskridge had a $1.1 million natural gas bill in February. It paid around $175,000 for all of 2020.
The KCC is in the process of reviewing winter payment plans for utilities and cities hard-hit by the brutal cold, which drove overnight lows under -15 across Kansas and forced the Southwest Power Pool to enact rolling power blackouts to take pressure off the grid. KCC staff are researching plans submitted by Evergy and Black Hills Energy among other utilities. Atmos and Kansas Gas Service have not submitted plans as of yet.
