Kansas AG refiles natural gas price gouging lawsuit

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach on Wednesday announced a renewed effort to recover funds he says were taken from Kansans during the winter storm of February 2021. Low temperatures in Kansas dipped below freezing for several days with high temperatures in the single digits and teens for nearly two weeks.

Kobach’s office announced that he’s refiling a $50 million natural gas price gouging lawsuit against Macquarie Energy. The suit accused the company of manipulating prices during the storm by overpaying for natural gas from the state’s largest supplier before passing inflated costs onto Kansans. Kobach’s office said Macquarie is the nation’s second-largest gas marketer.

The legal action against the company comes after a district judge dismissed Kobach’s previous case on a technicality that followed a mistake in the original filing.

Attorneys with a Nebraska-based law firm joined Kobach’s office on the complaint.

“It’s disgraceful that Macquarie would manipulate prices at a time when Kansans were already hurting from the storm,” Kobach said. “We will do everything we can to recover what was taken from those Kansans.”

You can read the full complaint here.

This isn’t the only litigation connected with the cold February 2021 cold snap. In September, 12 News reported on a group of Kansans taking natural gas producers and suppliers to court as part of class action lawsuits that were filed.

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