Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony has spoken out again regarding the handling of the February 2021 winter storm by the OCC and utilities. He is now calling for State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd to conduct a full, independent audit on all expenses related to ratepayer-backed bonds authorized by the OCC over Winter Storm Uri.
Last Thursday, the OCC voted to send an audit conducted by its Public Utilities Division on the ONG bond to Governor Stitt, Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat and House Speaker Charles McCall. Commissioner Anthony alleges the OCC audit is only one page long.
“Never in my long professional life have I ever seen a one-page audit – and for a matter involving more than $1.3 billion of ratepayer monies,” exclaimed Anthony. “If, as I believe they do, the Governor and the Legislature care about the excessive multi-billion-dollar impact on their constituents that has resulted from the OCC’s failure to do its constitutional, statutory and regulatory duties related to the February 2021 Winter Storm, lawmakers should request the State Auditor and Inspector undertake a performance audit of all expenses related to and/or arising from the ratepayer-backed bond issuances authorized by OCC.”
Oklahoma Natural Gas was issued ratepayer-backed bonds to help pay for the exorbitant cost of natural gas during the winter storm. ONG opted to go through the securitization method through the OCC, to spread out the cost among several decades so as to limit the burden on its customers.
The OCC has not yet released any consolidated figures for the 2021 bond issuances; therefore, it has been up to Commissioner Anthony to collect and calculate this data on his own. A source close to Commissioner Anthony advised that he utilized the following data including but not limited to estimate comparison tables issued by current Chair Todd Hiett and former Commissioner Dana Murphy; issuance advice letters sent to the OCC by the utility and the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority after each bond issuance; and emails sent to Commissioner Anthony at his request following each bond issuance.
The actual securitization total comes from the utility company emails. Our source indicated that the principal is not only the original “power/fuel” amount from the winter storm but also includes the securitization costs that were also financed more than two decades. It is important to note that these totals do not include the ongoing costs ranging from $700,000 to $1.2 million annually for the largest three bond deals.
To read Commissioner Anthony’s official 15-page opinion filed in the case, click here.