Due to the February cold weather, BPU’s purchase power bill from Evergy was approximately 3 times a typical bill.  Around 91% of the energy purchased by the utility was close to normal cost, with 9% being in the neighborhood of 35 times normal.  In an effort to soften the substantial swing in electric bills, the utility has chosen to spread these increased costs over a six month period for residential, small and medium commercial customers.  The result will be an increased cost for residential customers of approximately $0.015/kWH or $13.50 per month.