PSO Customers: That $11 Increase May Not Be What You Actually Pay

There’s a little more to that new $11 PSO charge than what showed up in the email from the electric company.

Back in July, PSO added an interim price hike to customers' bills, right at $11 a month. Now, PSO can't just decide they're going to hike prices willy-nilly, I think this is pretty common knowledge, and if has people questioning the charge.

In short, it's a temporary charge they've added while the Oklahoma Corporation Commission decides the fate of their last price hike request.

You've certainly noticed, and PSO must have heard all about it because the email they sent out last week tried to explain everything, but it didn't really get into that $11 extra charge.

Here's the full rundown.

Back in January, PSO asked the OCC for a rate increase that would have added more than $25 a month to the average residential bill. That request is still being reviewed. But in June, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced that his office and PSO had reached a settlement that would dramatically reduce that increase.

Instead of $25, the proposed settlement would raise the average residential bill by about $2.45 a month. There’s a catch, though... The OCC still has to approve that lower agreed settlement.

In the meantime, it almost feels like the PSO is holding us all hostage with that interim rate of about $11 a month. They're allowed to collect that amount while the rate case is pending, and when the OCC closes this case at that lower rate, we're all entitled to a refund.

More clearly stated, PSO will have to refund us the difference.

If the $2.45 settlement is approved, that $11 charge isn't simply going to get another $2.45 added on top of it, they split the difference and credit you back $8.55 for each month you paid that $11... Follow?

How that refund ultimately appears on your bill and exactly how much you get back will depend on the final OCC order and how long the interim rate remains in effect.

The OCC still gets the last word.