OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Attorney Gen. Gentner Drummond filed two motions Monday requesting the Oklahoma Corporation Commission modify its final order on Public Service Company of Oklahoma’s (PSO) rate request to ensure greater relief for residential customers.
Drummond’s office said an initial settlement agreement negotiated by the Utility Regulation Unit of the Attorney General’s office, the AARP and the OCC’s Public Utility Division reduced PSO’s proposed monthly residential increase from an average of $14 to $3.57, which was the result of a negotiated cap on the residential increase of 2.5%.
Despite the agreement, OCC commissioners made several modifications and approved a final order that “significantly increases residential rates compared to the settlement agreement,” Drummond’s office said.
The changes equate to an average monthly increase of $5.35 for residential customers, which Drummond said is 50% higher than the negotiated settlement.
“My office worked diligently to craft an agreement to protect ratepayers as much as possible, and I am extremely disappointed that it was cast aside in favor of higher bills for residential customers,” Drummond said in a statement. “With inflation through the roof, consumers are already paying too much for basic goods and services. The last thing they need is unnecessary rate increases.”
In the motions filed today, Drummond asked Corporation Commissioners to modify their final order to approve the previous settlement agreement. If the Commission does not approve the agreement, a second motion seeks a reinstatement of the lower residential rate to keep costs down for ratepayers and hold them harmless from the Commission’s modifications to the settlement agreement.
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