State utility regulators on Monday heard from PSO customers and Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols about the company’s proposed rate increase. The meeting was among the initial steps in the rate review process.
PSO seeks to add about $25 to the average resident’s monthly bill, but that total could be higher or lower for certain customers. The utility company said the increase comes from investments already in place, like infrastructure upgrades.
During the meeting, Nichols addressed the Oklahoma Corporation Commission remotely over Zoom. He said PSO’s new rates will compound with Tulsa’s public utility increase, which will climb between 4% and 7%, about a $5.82 increase for typical customers.
“A $25-a-month rate increase is just something that I believe is untenable for our citizens,” Nichols said. “I say that knowing that it's important that we invest back into the infrastructure. That's something that we've had to do this budget year with our public utilities.”
Nichols advocated for an incremental increase rather than the approval of the approximately 15% increase proposed by PSO.
“ I do understand the need and necessity for increases on some level,” he said. “$25 a month to the typical resident seems a little tough, and I know maybe at some times it doesn't seem like a lot. $25 is a significant, significant jump.”
“If you add that with what we know we have to do here at the city, you're talking essentially $30 a month on utilities that everybody's going to be paying more than they were paying today.”
Several residents gave public comments during the meeting, including Angela Jungbluth from Inola. The former nurse said she moved to Oklahoma during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It's a heavy one for us. For many Oklahoma families, it's not a minor increase,” Jungbluth said. “Families are already struggling with rising costs for food, insurance, housing, health care and other necessities.”
PSO customer Ken Roam said his family is on a fixed income and he worries about changes to his monthly electricity bill.
“ I feel like we are being asked to bear the burdens for these large load users,” he said of data centers and the proposed Inola aluminum smelter. “ I am respectfully asking this commission to carefully scrutinize what PSO is asking for.”
In an email, PSO spokesperson Matt Rahn said costs associated with planned data centers are not included in the rate case.
“We remain committed to transparency and will continue to work through the regulatory process to ensure all decisions are based on the appropriate facts and considerations,” he said.
The rate case is separate from PSO’s recent preapproval for new projects totaling $1.2 billion. The commission voted last month to approve the utility’s investments in two natural gas units, three battery storage systems and purchase power agreements from existing wind and gas facilities.
One state lawmaker appealed that order to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, said in a news release he believes the utility expansions are a result of energy-hungry customers like data centers coming online. As of June 2, Gann had filed ten such appeals with the state’s highest court.
Gann is also speaking out about the rate increase at the center of Monday’s meeting. In a recent OCC filing, he wrote the commission should “dismiss this case and start over – beginning with adequate notice to PSO’s customers.”
Another opportunity for in-person public comment on the PSO rate case will take place June 25 at 1:30 pm. Testimony from the utility company and other parties is scheduled for June 29 at 8:30 am.
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