DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Polar Vortex is back up in Canada, and Iowa weather is warming up. Now, Iowans face big utility bills that will come from heating homes and businesses during the weeks long, below-zero cold snap.
The Iowa Utilities Board says it's not certain when the increases will show up on bills, and it's not clear how big the increases will be.
Some of that depends on how much energy each home or business used pumping gas or propane into home heating systems and plugging in electric space heaters turned up high.
It's also how much money the utility companies had to spend in supplying the fuel or power.
The Iowa State Attorney General's Office plans to meet with MidAmerican, Alliant, and other Iowa regulated utilities on March 12th to discuss a plan that reduces the impact on customers' wallets, but still pays the utility companies for the energy that was used during the extreme cold.
Iowans won't see the costs Texans will see.
Some people there are getting bills that cost thousands of dollars.