Consumer Warning: Power Companies Likely to Use Extreme Cold to Raise Prices, Pad Profits
Tyson Slocum is available for commentary on the weak oversight of U.S. energy markets and the potential for corporate price-gouging during winter storms
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With much of the country facing frigid weather conditions and extreme ice and snow in the coming days, Public Citizen experts warn that companies may exploit this extreme weather to raise energy prices on consumers.
Tyson Slocum, Public Citizen’s energy program director, issued the following statement on the current situation:
“Americans across the country are already grappling with an affordability crisis exacerbated by Donald Trump, despite his bogus claims that he would ‘slash’ utility bills in half in one year if elected.
“This strain may get significantly worse if energy companies — as they’ve done in the past — use plummeting temperatures and treacherous weather conditions as an excuse to raise energy prices for people who are just trying to stay safe. This despicable profiteering should be illegal, but, as Public Citizen has warned, weak oversight of energy markets has made it so companies can get away with it.
“Trump’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission terminated its investigation into corporate price gouging during Winter Storm Uri with no enforcement actions.
“The only thing Americans should worry about in extreme weather events is keeping themselves and their loved ones safe. We need immediate action to strengthen oversight of American energy markets and reopen investigations into corporations that have price gouged consumers.”
For more information, or to speak with Tyson about this rapidly evolving weather event, contact eleach@citizen.org (925-878-1887).