The Oklahoma Supreme Court, in three separate rulings this week, signed off on more than $2.2 billion in ratepayer bonds for three utilities as they seek rate hikes to recover 2021 winter storm costs. But one justice expressed reservations about the new law used in requesting the financial help, noting that Oklahomans will be “saddled” with financial obligations and there’s nothing he can do about it.
The rulings issued on Wednesday came in the cases that involved $1,450,000,000 in bonds for Oklahoma Natural Gas, $725,000,000 for PSO and $95 million for Summit Utilities. The court had previously approved nearly $1 billion in bonds for Oklahoma Gas and Electric.
Each of the ratepayer bond cases had been requested by the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority using a year-old February 2021 Regulated Utility Consumer Protect Act created by the legislature immediately after Winter Storm Uri hit the state and the region.
The utilities argued they needed the ratepayer backed bonds to pay for winter storm costs, much of it natural gas used in order to keep electricity power supplied to Oklahoma customers during the storm that raked across the state and resulted in rolling electric blackouts.
In each of the cases, the high court stated it approved the ratepayer-backed bonds. However, it issued a separate finding in the case of the ONG request because three individuals, all former legislators, had claimed the initial Financing Order approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission came in what they contended was a violation of the state Open Meeting law.
Porter Davis, Mike Reynolds and Dr. James Ritze argued in protests filed with the Supreme Court, that the Commission failed to post an agenda when it continued a meeting for the Financing Order.
The Court, in its ruling on Wednesday stated, “There was no violation of the Open Meetings Act.”
In a separate but concurring opinion, Justice Dustin P. Rowe noted how the court in the past several weeks had been prompted “by virtue of legislative enactments to preemptively ‘approve’ the issuance of billions of dollars in government bonds. He said between the prior two bond approvals and the three approved this week, the justices signed off on $3,270,000,000 in bonded indebtedness “to be borne by Oklahomans.”
“For reference, the State’s budget for FY 2022 authorized approximately $9,060,000,000 in appropriations,” he wrote. Justice Rowe expressed doubt about the new February 2021 Regulated Utility Consumer Protection Act which he said “narrowly circumscribes our authority in approving the bonds.”
“Despite the limited scope of our review, our approval of the bonds in question will permanently foreclose the right of any person or entity to challenge the validity of these bonds in the future, even if a meritorious claim arises.”
He went on to write that the consequences should not be taken lightly when the effect “of our ruling will be to irrevocably saddle many Oklahomans with a significant financial obligation for the next twenty years—and to establish additional precedent for future bond approvals.”
The justice concluded his concurring opinion by stating, “Despite my misgivings, our statutory mandate under the Act is limited to ruling upon the constitutionality of the policy, not to supplant the policy with our own.”
He assumed office on February 24, 2020. His current term ends on January 8, 2023.
Rowe was first appointed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court by Governor Kevin Stitt (R) on November 20, 2019, to succeed Justice Patrick Wyrick. He was a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 2nd Congressional District of Oklahoma. Rowe was defeated in the Republican primary on June 26, 2012.
Rowe was elected mayor of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, in April 1994, at the age of 18. He served two terms.
Click below to view Justice Rowe’s opinion
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/1052221142-20220524-090352-.pdf
Click below for ONG ruling
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/1052221122-20220524-090103-%20(1).pdf
Click below for Summit Utilities ruling
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/1052221138-20220524-090319-.pdf
Click below for PSO ruling
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/1052221130-20220524-090214-%20(1).pdf