Attorney General Mike Hunter announced Wednesday parties involved in the OG&E rate case have reached a historic $64 million rate reduction settlement agreement, resulting in lower utility bills for OG&E customers beginning in July.
Customers will also receive a one-time refund as a result of the $18.5 million federal corporate income tax cut, after the attorney general called on companies to pass on the savings to customers in January.
With the rate case settlement agreement and the savings from the federal income tax cut, OG&E’s standard residential customers will see an average approximate reduction of $18.71 on their July bills. Each subsequent month, the average savings for a standard residential customer will be approximately $4.44.
Non-residential customers, such as businesses and government agencies, will see a total savings of approximately $32 million.
Attorney General Hunter said with summer months being the costliest for utility customers, the reduction couldn’t have come at a more helpful time.
“This historic reduction represents the largest rate reduction ever received by customers of an Oklahoma energy utility and will put real money back in the pockets of hard working Oklahomans,” Attorney General Hunter said. “The agreement was made possible by the commitment of all parties to work together to reach a result that is in the public interest. I appreciate OG&E for being a good corporate citizen and helping us achieve this outcome. My office remains committed to working with utility companies to ensure they are financially healthy, while providing affordable and reliable energy to customers.
“I want to commend the Utility Regulation Unit in my office. The team worked tirelessly, representing OG&E customers to ensure the very best refund possible.”
AARP State Director Sean Voskuhl said for elderly Oklahomans, the rate reduction is monumental.
“So many older Oklahomans are on a fixed income and a few dollars a month can mean the difference between filling a prescription, buying a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk or paying their electric bill,” Voskuhl said. “Realizing this reality, our members were adamant that the recent tax savings be passed on to the consumer to lower their bills. We were excited to team up with Attorney General Mike Hunter and fight for this historic rate reduction. We appreciate his efforts and we greatly appreciate the efforts of our members who made their voices heard loud and clear. This is truly a win for OG&E customers.”
The parties involved in the case are the Attorney General’s Office, OG&E, OG&E Shareholders Association, the Public Utility Division of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers, AARP, Oklahoma Energy Results, LLC, the Federal Executive Agencies, Wal-Mart, Oklahoma Cogeneration, LLC. and CMC Steel Oklahoma.
All parties supported the settlement.
The attorney general’s Utility Regulation Unit advocates for reasonable rates for Oklahoma utility customers and compliance with rules designed to promote quality utility service. Attorneys and analysts within the unit are routinely involved in complex litigation to protect the interests of Oklahoma utility customers. Read more about the work of the Utility Regulation Unit, here: https://bit.ly/2DEoBHx.
A majority of the three-member Corporation Commission must approve the settlement agreement before it can go into effect.
Read the settlement agreement, here: https://bit.ly/2LO7ans.
