OKLAHOMA CITY — Public Service Company of Oklahoma customers may soon be paying more.
The public utility is asking the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to approve a $218 million rate hike annually, according to a document filed with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
If approved, the average residential customer will see an increase of $10 per month — a 7% increase compared to current rates, according to the document.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission regulates public utilities.
If approved, the change would not take effect sooner than August 2024, said Wayne Greene, a PSO spokesperson.
The company has invested nearly a quarter of a billion in generation, transmission and distribution plants as well as seen increased operation and maintenance expenses since the last base rate case, according to the document.
“The capital investment is much too large to not be recovering and receiving a return,” according to the document.
PSO, headquartered in Tulsa, serves 232 communities, including Tulsa, McAlester and Lawton.
The company serves nearly 573,000 in Oklahoma across all classes, Greene said.
A 2022 rate review resulted in a 2.5% increase for the typical residential customer, Greene said. A 2021 rate review resulted in a 4.72% increase, while a 2018 rate review resulted in a 2.2% increase, Greene said.
The request comes after OG&E recently requested a rate hike of over $332 million.
“We’re currently reviewing the details of PSO’s latest utility rate hike, but from a purely price tag perspective, the amount is staggering,” said AARP Oklahoma State Director Sean Voskuhl. “This request comes on the heels of OG&E’s $332.5 million rate hike request impacting 1.5 million Oklahoma residential utility customers who could potentially face more than a half a billion-dollar rate increase this year.”
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter.
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