Oklahoma commission issues final order in Gas and Electric rate case
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) granted Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) an $8.9 million rate increase this week in response to the company’s $92.5 million rate increase request.
The average residential customer will see a monthly bill increase of approximately 71 cents as a result of
the order. A refund, however, of the $69.5 million interim rate increase instituted in June 2016 will offset this increase. OCC ordered OG&E to refund with interest the $39 million of the interim rate increase that the utility has already collected.
The company expressed disappointment over the order.
“While the Commission did allow the recovery of $1.6 billion in investments we made in new electric infrastructure since our last rate case, they extended the useful financial lives of some of that equipment beyond 100 years,” Brian Alford, an OG&E spokesman, said. “While that lowers rates today, it shifts the burden to customers in the future. We are disappointed by this approach.”
OG&E also took issue with other facets of the order, including the allowed return on equity (ROE). The Commission ordered a 9.5 percent ROE, a drop from the company’s current 10.2 percent.
“The national average for comparable utility ROEs is currently 9.77 percent, and OG&E is a high performing utility,” Alford said. “Our rates are among the lowest in the country, reliability is strong and customer satisfaction high and yet we received an ROE well below the national average.”
OG&E plans to file another rate case later this year that will cover the renovation of its Mustang natural gas plant in Oklahoma City, among other items.
