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Electric utilities file for relief from Oklahoma Corporation Commission regarding winter storm

Rhett Morgan Feb 26, 2021 Updated 8 hrs ago

The state’s largest electric utilities, OGE Energy Corp. and Public Service Company of Oklahoma, have filed applications with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to recover fuel costs associated with the recent winter weather event and mitigate the impact on customer bills.

The companies said they have incurred combined costs of $1.825 billion and are seeking to extend those costs over a period of up to 10 years in order to lighten the burden on customers. ... The aim is to limit fuel cost-related increases to less than 10% for an average residential customer’s bill.

“We understand these fuel cost increases may create hardships for some customers and our priority has been to find a way to minimize those impacts,” Matthew Horeled, PSO vice president of regulatory and finance, said in a statement. ... “The costs associated with last week’s events were extraordinary and this filing is part of our effort to work with customers, regulators and others to find solutions.”

Six of PSO’s plants are natural gas-fired, including those in Tulsa, Jenks and Oologah, PSO spokesman Stan Whiteford said. ... Preliminary estimates show that PSO spent about $825 million on fuel costs during the roughly 10-day cold snap, he said. That compares to annual fuel costs typically in the $550 million to $600 million range, Whiteford said.

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