PSO is Trying to Give Oklahoma the Old Banana in the Tailpipe

It was only seven weeks ago that Oklahoma electric provider PSO (Public Service Company of Oklahoma) announced they would be issuing refunds to their 570k-ish Sooner State customers over the first few months of 2024.

It appears the fuel costs to generate power weren't quite as high as expected, so they opted to pass that back to customers throughout the state.

Unfortunately, Oklahoma's other big power supplier--OG&E--opted for something a little different. In fact, they requested to hike electric rates as we turned over the new year.

Not to be the only big publically traded electric company not cashing in while the getting is good, PSO is following suit, asking the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for a $218 million annual hike.

That's a 7% jump during a time when PSO fully admits power generation is cheaper than expected by their own forecast experts.

It's a huge rate hike.

Changing prices for utilities isn't anything new. We see them with steady regularity as the prices of everything change too.

That being said, the average rate hike year-to-year is closer to 2% on average, less than a third of what is being proposed right now.

How bad is it going to sting if it's approved? This will equate to an additional $10 on the monthly average bill.

What can you do?

Since the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is a public operating body of government, you're more than welcome to contact them and let your voice be heard.

You can either show up to a public hearing in person, but even the OCC website insists emails will do just fine. You'll just need a few pieces of information to include in your message.

You'll want to email CS@occ.ok.gov.

You need to include your name, address, utility name, and the case number so they'll know exactly what you're reaching out to them about.

The case number for this specific rate increase request is 2023-000086.

Get our free mobile app

Will it help to reach out?

Well, if history tells us anything, probably not.

All the same, since this rate hike is so much higher than the average, your Corporation Commissioners might actually lean in favor of Oklahomans this time around--something they very rarely do.

Also, consider opting for lanterns like our forefathers did... but then again, they'd be stacking bodies by now.