Over 20,000 Oklahomans Signed A Petition Against PSO. Now What?

There’s a lot of anger over PSO right now.

That probably isn't news to anybody who has opened their electric bill lately.

A petition calling on the utility to stop what it calls “unjust electric rate hikes” has been making the rounds online, and the number of signatures has gone from a few thousand to more than 20,000 in a matter of days.

The petition is asking for an audit of PSO and an explanation of the company's rate increases. Which is a pretty big demand, but the real story here is buried underneath all of that.

What Happens When You Sign The Petition?

Short story, not much. Political pressure at best.

PSO's rates aren't set by PSO. They're regulated by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, and the commission is in the middle of this rate case right now.

PSO asked the OCC for $25 more per month for every residential customer using 1,100 kilowatt-hours per billing cycle.

That number got everybody's attention. $25 is a big jump, but the state pushed back.

The Attorney General's office negotiated a settlement that would reduce the proposed increase dramatically, to roughly $2.45 per month for the average residential customer. But in the meantime, PSO was allowed to put an interim increase of about $11 per month into effect while the final rate case continues.

PSO's Interim Rate Is Causing Confusion

People are looking at their bills right now and seeing that extra money, while the final rate hasn't even been decided yet.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission says utility rate cases aren't supposed to be some secret meeting where a utility walks in, asks for more money, and everybody else just shrugs. The utility has to provide documentation supporting its request. The commission's Public Utility Division reviews the company's costs and financial information. Testimony is filed. Witnesses can be questioned. The Attorney General's office participates on behalf of Oklahoma ratepayers, and you, the private citizen, can participate too.

There is a public-comment process specifically for these cases, and your comments become part of that public record.

So if you're angry about PSO, there are actually two very different things you can do.

You can sign an online petition, but that signature doesn't become part of the PSO rate case at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission...

That doesn't mean the petition is meaningless. More than 20,000 people signing anything in Oklahoma gets somebody's attention. But a Change.org signature isn't going to decide the PSO rate case.

Instead, you can put your complaint into the state process that will ultimately determine what PSO is allowed to charge you, and the Corporation Commission will consider it all in time.

Does The OCC Always Approve Rate Hikes?

Well, while the perception is that the OCC always stamps their approval on pretty much anything, they've recently been cutting requests down to a lower cost, or saying "No" in general. It's rare, but it has happened.

In 2023, PSO asked for a $294.5 million increase. The commission ultimately approved about $131.2 million, roughly $139 million less than what PSO originally requested.

That's the part of this story people don't talk about enough.

The question isn't simply whether PSO wants too much money... They're a for-profit, publicly traded utility. Of course they want more money... But the question is what can PSO actually prove it needs, what the state decides is reasonable, and how much of that bill ultimately lands on the people trying to keep the AC on.

If you're one of the thousands of Oklahomans who's mad enough about your electric bill to sign one, you might want to make sure your voice ends up in the place where the decision is actually being made.