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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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BLOOMBERG: Everyone’s an Energy Trader as Power Bills Hit the Sky in the US
In deregulated states, customers are turned into de facto natural-gas forecasters, gambling on the direction of highly volatile markets when it’s time to renew their contracts.
Millions of Americans are being forced to bet on power and natural-gas prices at a time when even seasoned professionals are unsure where highly volatile markets are headed.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Alliance for Secure Energy Names Jeff Cloud as Executive Director
The Alliance for Secure Energy (ASE) is proud to announce the appointment of Jeff Cloud as executive director.
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PR NEWSWIRE: Midwest energy companies pledge to build nation's largest interstate electric vehicle charging network, enabling clean transportation
Electric vehicle (EV) owners will soon be taking road trips across the Midwest with increased confidence. That's because six regional energy companies have committed to a first-of-its-kind Memorandum of Cooperation, committing to work together to build a vast network of Midwest EV charging stations by the end of 2022.
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REAL CLEAR ENERGY: Learning From California’s Blackouts
It should be inconceivable that in a time of American energy abundance, within the nation’s richest and most populous state, citizens are being subjected to rolling electricity blackouts.
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