Oklahoma regulators cut PSO rate hike to 3.55% after rejecting 15% proposal

3.55 percent. That is the new electricity rate increase for Public Service Company of Oklahoma customers, approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission on November 5. The vote was 2-1.

The approved figure is well below the 15 percent hike the utility initially filed in January. PSO had cited electric grid upgrades, vegetation management, and energy generation as the primary drivers for its original request. The company had previously backed a settlement that would have limited the residential rate increase to just 1 percent. That deal had support from the Attorney General’s office, AARP, and the Commission’s public utility division.

Matt Rahn, a PSO spokesperson, stated that the company is calculating the effect on customer bills and evaluating its options. He noted that the final order rejected the rate designs from the original settlement. Leslie Berger, press secretary for the Attorney General’s office, explained that residential customers will see slightly higher impacts than under the settlement, while industrial customers will see modestly lower impacts. Berger added that the final order will save customers nearly $23 million annually.

The decision comes after a hot summer that drove up electricity bills. PSO customers have organized a petition demanding more transparency and fewer rate increases. As of November 5, the Change.org petition has collected about 40,000 signatures.

Commissioners disagreed on how to handle future costs. Chair Kim David wanted to expand a cost-recovery rider, which is a line item separate from electricity use that allows PSO to recover certain transmission costs. Commissioners Todd Hiett and Brian Bingman preferred that new projects undergo more scrutiny in a traditional rate case. This means PSO could return to the commission with another request in the near future. David voted against the final order, while Hiett and Bingman approved it.

David said there are many good aspects of the order, but she felt the commission could have been more supportive of PSO without being punitive to ratepayers. Jack Damrill, a Commission spokesperson, said the company must file more financial information before a specific dollar amount is confirmed. The final number could be less than the $11 interim fee customers have paid since this summer. The order also includes a large load tariff with separate rates for customers like data centers, intended to protect residential customers from paying higher interconnection costs for energy-hungry buildings.