In just two weeks of February 2021, Oklahoma’s largest public utilities incurred some $2.8 billion in fuel and purchased power costs (compared to $1.3 billion for all of 2020). Then lawmakers and two Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners allowed those utilities to tack on another $2 billion-plus of financing (aka “securitization”) expenses by issuing pricey ratepayer-backed bonds with terms as long as 28 years.
2021’s Winter Storm “Uri” is now costing Oklahoma customers of OG&E, ONG, PSO and Centerpoint/ Summit more than $5 billion. In my opinion, it is the worst financial abuse of Oklahoma ratepayers in more than 30 years, and the public has a right to know the truth about it.
In the one-and-a-half years since the Winter Storm bonds were issued, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission itself has never bothered to report the total price tag of the bond sales — apparently hiding the fact that they cost $1 billion more than the estimates. So much for transparency, let alone the promised “savings.”
