What other explanation could there be for an $860 charge from Crooks Municipal Gas?
When she finally got in touch with someone there, she was told that there was no leak. Gas prices skyrocketed in February as much of the country struggled through a cold snap.
"It was just shocking," Mekvold said.
"Heads up!" she tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. "I just got my gas bill in Renner, SD. Because of the Texas fiasco, the supplier is charging more and so is my gas company. My bill is $860 instead of $240. So, I have many calls to make and emails to send."
Butch Oseby, the mayor of Crooks, said the city was faced with a gas cost of about $540,000 for the month of February. A normal winter month might be between $80,000 and $100,000, he said — noting that the majority of that came from just three days.