HuffPo: Oklahoma Proposes Letting Gas Utility Charge A $1,400 ‘Exit Fee’ To Go Electric

[China]

Oklahoma Proposes Letting Gas Utility Charge A $1,400 ‘Exit Fee’ To Go Electric

 

Oklahoma’s biggest natural gas utility could soon charge customers who switch to electric stoves and heating systems an “exit fee” of nearly $1,400 to disconnect service, HuffPost has learned, setting a precedent that could help the industry lock millions of Americans into fossil fuel use for decades.

 

The proposal is part of a larger bid by Oklahoma Natural Gas to sell off debt it incurred when fuel prices skyrocketed during a historic cold snap last February. It is currently being negotiated before a judge at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. The provision, which would apply only to customers who terminate service specifically to go electric, could be approved as early as December and come into force no later than June.

 

The fee could more than double the cost of swapping a gas stove for a new electric appliance, forcing homeowners offloading their last gas appliance to not only purchase the new one but also to bid the utility farewell by paying out the remainder of their share of the company’s debt. The fee is also a flat rate for virtually all customers, so the cost does not reflect the amount of gas the household used during last winter’s deep freeze.

 

If greenlighted, the measure would likely become a model for gas-friendly regulators across the country, advocates say, providing a new tool to prevent consumer transitions from fossil fuels to zero-carbon alternatives. Texas and Kansas are already considering their own proposals, according to one source who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the plans.

 

The Sooner State had already helped pioneer a similar policy when it approved one of the nation’s first “preemption laws” barring its cities and towns from banning new gas hookups in buildings. Oklahoma enacted the legislation last year, shortly after Berkeley, California, became the first U.S. city to require all new construction to go electric.

 

Since then, more than 20 states, most of them Republican-controlled, have passed similar laws banning bans on natural gas, while cities including San Francisco, Seattle and Brookline, Massachusetts, have barred new or renovated buildings from installing gas appliances. The effort comes as cities and states rush to cut climate-changing pollution, roughly 13% of which in the U.S. comes from buildings. Electrification poses an existential threat to gas utilities, which have responded with aggressive lobbying for preemption laws and with misleading advertising campaigns featuring Instagram influencers.

 

“Exit fees are just one more example of barriers being put in place to make it more difficult for customers to electrify their homes and cut greenhouse gases,” said Charlie Spatz, a researcher who tracks preemption laws at the watchdog group Energy and Policy Institute. “As gas prices rise and consumers are more concerned about their carbon footprints, this exit fee could become a serious financial hurdle locking customers into the gas system.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Dan T.]

****ing criminals.

[Larry]

Observing that the article (the small portion that I read) seems to just assume that switching to electric means switching to zero greenhouse.  

 

What percentage of electricity is zero greenhouse?  Either in Oklahoma, or nationwide?  5%?  

[NoCalMike]

I am not sure if this is a state to state thing but aren't all utilities a  month to month contract to begin with?  How in the world can you justify an "exit" fee of $1 or $1400 for any other reason than trying to force people to keep a service they don't want?  WTF

[CousinsCowgirl84]

16 hours ago, Larry said:

Observing that the article (the small portion that I read) seems to just assume that switching to electric means switching to zero greenhouse.  

 

What percentage of electricity is zero greenhouse?  Either in Oklahoma, or nationwide?  5%?  

Well, there is zero green natural gas, and green electricity is growing quickly. You can’t get natural gas solar panels.

 

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by CousinsCowgirl84

[tshile]

The gas company here offered a huge rebate on install because of the stuff we were putting in our new home. 
 

also because I think the person processing the order on their end screwed up royally cause I got like a 850 foot run gas install for free and that shouldn’t have happened either way. Even the install team was like 🤔 when they showed up

 

if I switched and they charged me for the prorated discount I received I wouldn’t blame them. They discounted install based on use, so if you’re not gonna use it that way you should lose your discount. 
 

but after some time that prorates to 0. So… beyond that? Sounds criminal. (Except it’s not cause they’ll pay the law makers to make it the law, see how that works?)