Oklahoma Gas and Electric seeks rate hike

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The state's largest electric utility has asked the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for permission to raise residential customers' rates by $3 a month. <br/><br/>The hike is

Saturday, May 21st 2005, 12:27 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The state's largest electric utility has asked the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for permission to raise residential customers' rates by $3 a month.

The hike is part of a package that would raise Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.'s revenue by $89.1 million a year.

Under the proposal, residential customers would see a 3.5 percent rate hike. Large industrial customers would see a 9.6 percent climb, while rates would drop 3 percent to 6 percent for schools and the cost would fall about 7 percent for most small businesses.

``The vast majority of what we are asking for is related to reliability,'' OG&E spokesman Brian Alford said. ``We have made about $600 million in necessary capital improvements we hope to recover.''

While Friday's proposal would raise the overall rate, the state's 80,000 small businesses and schools would get reductions.

``Small businesses have paid more than their fair share for years,'' Alford said. ``We need to reduce the subsidy that class is paying and that the industrial class is receiving.''

A notable exception, however, is that OG&E suggested a special tariff that would give Tinker Air Force Base a 2.7 percent decrease rather than the nearly 10 percent increase for other large industrial users.

Thomas P. Schroedter, attorney for the Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers, said he had not yet been able to study OG&E's full request, but he balked at the utility's suggestion of a 9.6 percent rate increase for large industrial customers.

``We believe that significant of an increase is counterproductive to retaining jobs and attracting new industries into our state,'' Schroedter said.

Kathy Taylor, Oklahoma secretary of commerce and tourism, shared Schroedter's concern about the steep increase in industrial rates, but said the general economy likely would benefit from the decreased rates for small businesses.

``Since small businesses are the core of the state's economy, we want to treat them appropriately,'' said Taylor, who also serves as Oklahoma's Small Business Advocate.

Also included in the rate case request is a program that would credit qualifying low-income customers $6.50 for each of the summer months. Alford estimated the program would benefit about 16,500 households.

The rate case is expected to be assigned to an administrative law judge, with hearings the next few months. Any rate change likely would go into effect no sooner than December.