(The Center Square) – Oklahoma’s electricity rates are the fourth lowest in the country, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
ALEC used 2022 U.S. Energy Information Administration statistics to measure the pennies per kilowatt hour. Oklahoma’s cost was 8.52 cents per kilowatt hour.
Consumers pay a higher cost than commercial and industrial customers, according to the report, at 11 cents per kilowatt hour. Commercial customers pay 8.7 cents per hour, while industrial clients pay 5.5 cents.
The report comes out a day after the Oklahoma Corporation Commission agreed to cap an increase in residential electricity rate increase after a challenge by Attorney General Gentner Drummond. The Public Service Company of Oklahoma, which serves more than 577,000 customers across the state, requested an increase.
Drummond, the American Association for Retired Persons and the Corporation Commission’s Public Utilities Division negotiated a 2.5% cap on the increase for residential customers. The OCC removed the cap and changed the agreement earlier this month.
The 2.5% cap was reinstated at the OCC’s meeting on Tuesday, reducing the rate increases from $5.35 to $3.57 a month. The uptick in rates will not cause customers’ bills to go up because of a decrease in fuel charges. Residential bills are slated to go down by more than $13.
“I commend each commissioner for standing with Oklahoma families in support of lower utility bills. I am grateful the commissioners thoughtfully considered our argument to protect PSO residential customers. Oklahoma families struggling with the effects of inflation deserve greater relief when it comes to utility costs, and today they received that relief.”
This article First appeared in the center square