Corporation Commission discusses SB 1103 on electricity rates, declines action

Seven minutes after his unusual meeting about SB 1103 began Monday, Oklahoma Corporation Commission Chairman Todd Hiett learned that four pages of 30 wording changes had been filed in a floor amendment to the controversial bill regarding electric utility regulation.

Hiett, who last week sent out notice of Monday’s special meeting to discuss SB 1103, was visibly aggravated when he found out the amendments were filed shortly after his meeting began.

“I’m very disappointed in the handling of the legislation and the fact that the filing of an amended bill happened during this hearing that had been posted for many, many days,” Hiett said.

Read More
High Five
Jeff Cloud Statement on HB 1602

Oklahoma lawmakers recognized that HB 1602, the electric deregulation bill that died in committee Thursday, would dismantle our state’s cost and reliability protections for Oklahoma electricity consumers, who largely oppose restructuring. HB 1602 is backed by a group of third-party gas marketers called the Alliance for Electrical Restructuring in Oklahoma (AERO) that would stand to profit from the chaos and confusion that would come from uncoupling transmission and distribution. We commend lawmakers for unmasking the real consequences for Oklahoma ratepayers who want more, not less oversight on rates and investments utilities make to the grid.

Read More
High Five
Statement from Alliance for Secure Energy Executive Director Jeff Cloud

I am pleased that Pro Tem Treat’s SB 1103 advanced out of the Oklahoma Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee today. If passed into law, this legislation will protect consumers by creating greater accountability at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) and stabilizing rates at a time when fuel prices are making electricity more costly.

Read More
High Five
Statement from Alliance for Secure Energy Executive Director Jeff Cloud

HB 1602, proposed today by Rep. Ryan Martinez, promises to “introduce choice” for electric customers by creating competition between providers by breaking apart generation, transmission and retail distribution into separately operated businesses, also known as deregulation or electric restructuring. We know from polling conducted as recently as this week that Oklahomans remain overwhelmingly opposed to deregulation.

Read More
High Five
Why Are Energy Prices So High? Some Experts Blame Deregulation.

Average retail electricity costs in the 35 states that have partly or entirely broken apart the generation, transmission and retail distribution of energy into separate businesses have risen faster than rates in the 15 states that have not deregulated, including Florida and Oregon. That difference has persisted for much of the last two decades or so, including in the last year, when energy prices increased worldwide after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Read More
High Five
Editorial: Corporation Commission must scrutinize every dollar requested
Editorial: Corporation Commission must scrutinize every dollar requested

The latest rate increase request from Public Service Company of Oklahoma has consumers wondering when the financial hits will end.

The proposed hike comes as part of a rate review. If approved, the raise of about $14 a month on average would be the third increase for PSO in the past year. The utility has about 560,000 customers. Its other two increases were for temporary cost recoveries. Pending is an earlier plan to buy three new wind farms and three new solar facilities to diversify power sources and save money long-term; it would raise bills an average of $3.48 a month by the end of 2025.

Read More
High Five
Statement from Alliance for Secure Energy Executive Director Jeff Cloud

I’m troubled by AERO’s blatant misrepresentation of Oklahoma as having the highest electricity rates in our region. This is simply untrue. Reports released by the Public Utility Commission of Texas clearly show that Texas’ deregulated prices are continuing to climb at a dramatically higher rate than Oklahoma’s when comparing 2021 rates to 2022 rates. While Oklahoma electricity prices are at 10.87 cents, Texas is seeing prices between 20 and 30 cents, and some service areas are seeing as much as 150% increase.

Read More
High Five
Deregulating utilities would be bad for Oklahomans

A group of third-party energy marketers, or 'middlemen,' is attempting to manufacture a problem for Oklahoma.

These middlemen are the founders of a new group called Alliance for Electrical Restructuring in Oklahoma (AERO) that is seeking to deregulate Oklahoma’s electric industry. Recently, AERO’s executive director, Mike Boyd, wrote an op-ed alleging Oklahoma utilities Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. (OG&E) and Public Service Corp. of Oklahoma (PSO) 'wildly overpaid for the natural gas' during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.

Read More
High Five
PENN LIVE: Electric fantasyland led to higher rates, taxes, and terminations | Opinion

On Aug. 4, 2000, Governor Tom Ridge (R) announced that electric competition would lead to job growth, economic expansion, and decreased rates… This Electric Fantasyland never materialized. To the contrary, electric companies collected $11.4 billion in “stranded costs” (mostly for uneconomical nuclear plants), shifted taxes to municipalities and school districts, and dumped customers at record rates.

Read More
High Five
ELECTRIC RESTRUCTURING – BAD PUBLIC POLICY FOR THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA

The regulated electric utilities in Oklahoma include - Oklahoma Gas and Electric, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, Liberty Utilities and 5 electric cooperatives.
State law prevents the Commission from regulating any electric utility operated by a governmental entity, such as the Grand River Dam Authority, or cities, which are members of the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority.

Read More
High Five