OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – During the historic winter storm that moved through Oklahoma earlier this month, many residents struggled to stay warm.

Now that temperatures have stabilized, Oklahomans are concerned about what their energy bills will look like in the coming months.

Residents in Texas, who suffered similar weather conditions, are reporting utility bills in the thousands.

“One of the main differences between Texas and Oklahoma is that their electric grid is largely unregulated, and so they don’t have these backstops of the Corporation Commission, or large organizations like the rural electric cooperatives to be that backstop,” said Secretary of Energy and Environment Kenneth Wagner.

Earlier this week, state leaders gathered to say that they are doing everything they can to minimize the impact on Oklahoma customers.

Now, officials with OG&E say they want to calm fears about dramatic energy bills.

OG&E says it has already filed an application with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to recover fuel costs over a 10-year period rather than all at once.

“Natural gas demand rose dramatically during the recent winter weather, which, combined with severe supply issues, caused a significant escalation in prices,” said Brian Alford, OG&E spokesman. “We estimate the cost to support our customers’ demand during the record low cold temperatures to be approximately $1 billion in terms of natural gas and purchased power. To add perspective, this amount exceeds our total fuel costs for all of last year.”

The application says OG&E will collect a portion of the associated fuel costs beginning with the April 2021 billing cycle and continue the remainder of the calendar year.

As a result, OG&E officials say customers would see an increase on their bill of less than 10%.

“Our normal recovery process would create an excessive burden for our customers because it would require us to recover the fuel costs over the remainder of 2021. We do not want that, so we are taking this unprecedented step to ask the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to extend the recovery period to 10 years instead of a few months. This alternative approach will keep costs down for customers and support State leaders’ efforts to lessen the burden on Oklahomans,” Alford said.

The company is seeking approval to establish alternative regulatory treatment that would delay recovery of the remaining and more substantial balance over a 10-year period, beginning in January 2022.

Officials say customers may see a one-time increase in their February bill if they had increased usage during the intense cold.