Public Service Company Of Oklahoma Customers To Pay More Due To 2021 Winter Storm

Public Service Company of Oklahoma customers are now going to pay more for their monthly utilities due to Feb. 2021's winter storm.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission said the Public Service Company of Oklahoma can recover fuel costs from the winter storm by applying that cost directly to consumers.

According to a release from the state corporation commission, the cost would have been around $476 per customer, but the state has a securitization law.

That law makes it so that they cannot make consumers pay that much money all at once.

What they plan to do is to spread that bill out over 20 years, meaning customers are going to be paying an extra $4.06 every month.

In a statement, Commission Chairman Dana Murphy spoke on how they may prevent this from happening again.

“It is vitally important that every step possible be taken to reduce the chances of a repeat of the natural gas market turmoil last February. It is a market that is outside the authority of the OCC.” Murphy continued,

“Federal authorities and the Oklahoma Attorney General are investigating that market, and the OCC will continue to work with regulated utilities on steps that could be taken to improve their fuel supply planning.”

The Public Service company said the total amount owed by consumers for 2021's winter storm is more than $675 million.