Lower Utility Taxes—Will They Translated into Savings for Customers?

While Democrats argued in Congress that the tax reform bill was for the wealthy, a review of the drop in corporate taxes shows Oklahoma utility consumers could see real benefits.
As figured by Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony, it’s possible the state’s 4 major utilities, OG and E, ONG, Empire and PSO would pay nearly $100 million less in corporate taxes, translating into possible rate reductions for consumers.
The tax reform drops the corporate federal tax rate from 35 to 21%.
OGE would pay $57,718,000 less in taxes. The drop for PSO would amount to about $28,000,000. Empire would drop by $425,000 and ONG would pay about $17 million less.
With lower income taxes, Anthony continues to argue that state regulators across the country could take timely action to ensure the savings are passed on to utility ratepayers, just like they did in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
The law, when signed by President Trump will go into effect January 1.