Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor has until Tuesday, March 1 to decide if he will intervene in the OG&E’s nearly $1 billion bond and rate case before the state supreme court.
Chief Justice Richard Darby, in a Feb. 16, 2022 order, extended the offer allowing O’Connor to intervene in the ratepayer bond case filed with the court by OG&E and the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority.
Justice Darby set a March 1 deadline for the attorney general to take part in the case. As of 5 p.m. Friday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court Network did not reflect any response in the case from the Attorney General.
O’Connor chose not to participate in a settlement agreement approved last October by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. His decision came after OG&E sought securitization for its hundreds of millions of dollars in costs from Winter Storm Uri in February 2021. While O’Connor stated in August 2021 he supported the securitization process, he did not go along with the settlement agreement. But he offered no comment in filings with the Corporation Commission.
Oklahoma Gas and Electric sought the securitization in which customers will see higher utility bills over a 28-year period.
Should O’Connor decide at the last minute that his office might take part in the court’s hearing of constitutional challenges and opposition to the ratepayer bond request, the court will give him until April 1 to offer comments.