At one time Oklahoma Gas and Electric was a supporter of Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett during his campaigns for office. But a recent filing with the Corporation Commission indicated the utility used its sword of power to sever all relations with the Republican regulator who voted recently against OGE’s request for Construction Work in Progress costs on one of its energy expansion projects.
In a November 26 filing in case 2025-000038, the utility requested Commissioner Hiett to recuse himself “from all proceedings in this Case,” accusing him of a “clear bias against OG&E.” The filing was made after the commission voted down its request for CWIP.
“Commissioner Hiett should recuse himself from any further vote in this proceeding for his prior prejudicial and inflammatory statements through which he has shown a clear animus against OG&E, depriving OG&E of the fair and unbiased participation by Commissioner Hiett.”
The utility further claimed “Hiett’s hostility toward OG&E has been demonstrated by his statements from the first day of the hearing and even before, stated the filing signed by former Deputy Attorney General Chase Snodgrass who left the agency earlier in the year to become an attorney for OG&E.
Adding to the twist was OGE’s use of the Oklahoma Ethics Commission and its Rule 4.7 “which dictates that an officer shall disqualify himself or herself from any matter where impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including stances where the officer has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party.”
In making its argument, OG&E stated, “The remedy of appeal cannot cure the harm caused by a biased decision-maker influencing the record, nor can it restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings. Accordingly, recusal is necessary under Rule 4.7.”
A similar ethics claim has been made and used by Rep. Tom Gann in his Supreme Court filings against the billions of dollars in Winter Storm securitization cases involving OG&E, PSO, and ONG. His objections stemmed from allegations of public drunkenness and wrongdoing on the part of Commissioner Hiett in 2024.
In this most recent development, OG&E contended Hiett made a series of statements that “demonstrate a clear bias against OG&E.” The utility accused him in the request of making what it called “Unprofessional and prejudicial” statements about the utility to an OG&E employee in front of other witnesses during a Friends of the Oklahoma Governor’s Mansion fundraising event. It claimed “Specifically, Commissioner Hiett uttered “OG&E is evil.””
The filing claimed Hiett’s “motives are speculative and could include retaliation for OG&E seeking legislative policy changes” or “an attempt to restore his reputation following alleged ethical and other misconduct.”
“While these incidents of misconduct have already been publicized and need not be repeated herein, it is relevant that in early 2025, as he faced pressure to resign over these allegations, Hiett falsely accused OG&E of fueling public attention on his scandals and directed OG&E to stop the perceived behavior,” stated the November 26 filing.
OG&E continued its claims, stating it appears Hiett is compromised by the Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumer (OIEC), repeats its talking points and “espouses their views at every opportunity.”
“And Commissioner Hiett seems proud of his appearance of partiality towards OIEC. On October 8, 2025, at the same fundraising event referenced above, Commissioner Hiett remarked to a regulatory attorney that he was pleased that an OG&E employee called him “Todd Schroedter” and remarked that such a comment was indicative the proceeding was going well.”
The “Todd Schroedter” reference is to Thomas Schroedter, a Tulsa attorney who is Executive Director of OIEC and argues its cases before the corporation commission.
OG&E also claimed that if Commissioner Hiett continues to oversee its cases, it will erode confidence in the Commission and lead to avoidable legal disputes. It also referenced the Supreme Court appeals made by Rep. Gann which required the Commission staff, Attorney General, and other parties to spend substantial public resources on the appellate process.
It asked Hiett to step aside from the case and any other current or future OG&E matter and said nothing short of recusal will restore trust in the fairness of the proceedings.
“If Commissioner Hiett stays involved, it could undermine the record and lead to further appeals, causing extraordinary costs for the Company, its customers, and taxpayers—expenses that may have already totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ethics Rule 4.7 mandates Commissioner Hiett’s recusal, which is essential to protect the integrity of Commission processes and ensure a fair regulatory compact in Oklahoma.
The recusal request came only 10 days after OG&E responded to Hiett’s characterization of its CWIP and energy expansion projects request where OG&E Vice President of Public and Regulatory Affairs, Ken Miller called Hiett’s accusations “baseless accusations and “beyond the pale.”
“I’ve known Todd for a long time and he has never responded well to not getting his own way,” he said in a statement. ““We take great offense to his characterization of OG&E’s advocacy for critical projects that meet Oklahoma’s growing demand for energy at low costs as highly inappropriate and unacceptable.”
OK Energy Today reached out to Commissioner Hiett for a response but as of mid-Monday afternoon, it had not received an answer.