While the author of the controversial Senate bill 998 contends it will result in lower electrical rates in Oklahoma, the AARP has come out urging Gov. Kevin Stitt to veto it.
The bill won approval Tuesday in the state House and was sent to the governor but the AARP immediately labeled it as a “utility power grab” that will hit Oklahoma customers with higher electric bills.
“This bill forces customers like you to fund the utility companies’ new power generation projects upfront, saddling us with rate hikes and risks while the utilities reap big profits. It also lets utilities bypass Oklahoma Corporation Commission oversight, removing key protections and allowing unchecked spending that will drive rates even higher,” declared the organization as it came out attacking Rep. Trey Caldwell’s bill.
“Customers will be forced to pay for these projects during construction, with no benefits for 15 to 20 years—meaning many, especially older Oklahomans, may never see any savings. Oklahoma families, especially those on fixed incomes, are already struggling with relentless utility rate hikes, forcing tough choices between essentials like food, medicine, and electricity. SB 998 will only make this worse,” declared the AARP’s Oklahoma Director Sean Voskuhl.
He urged AARP members in the state go contact the office of Gov. Stitt and “tell him to VETO SB998 to keep rates fair and protect Oklahoma families.”
During Tuesday’s explanation and debate of the bill, Rep. Caldwell declaredd, “This piece of legislation will loweer the overall cost to your mom and pop ratepayer when it comes to additional costs that are coming.” He later said in conclusion of the debate, “a vote yes for this bill is a vote to lower utility costs across the state of Oklahoma—in the long term, it will save ratepayers money.”
What the bill contains is a term called C-WIP or “construction while in progress” costs that are passed along immediately to ratepayers rather than at the conclusion of the project.
One legislator who argued against SB998 said it amounted to a “gift” to the utilities while another opposing legislator called it “a guaranteed profit on all of our ratepayers.”
John Tidwell with Americans for Prosperity told Mitchell Talks Energy with Jerry Bohnen other states that passed a version of what he called a C-WIP or Construction while in progress bill saw rates go up. He said Kansas, which passed the similar bill last year, saw a 4% rate increase for industrial utility rates
“On the consumer side, it’s 8 to 9 almost 10% increase in utility rates,” he explained, referring to increases in Kansas.
If it were to become law in Oklahoma, Tidwell said it would amount to “frontloading” the cost of a generation facility.
“By paying for that, we’re also not seeing the same benefit the invetors are seeing—they’re not making the same investment—we’re making that investment.”
He also said it raises constitutional questions at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and said it could lead to a court challenge.
