Bubbaworld

Another flim-flam has hit consumers of electric service from AEP-PSO.

Yesterday the utility raised rates by $8.6 million, supposedly to offset increased costs for meter reading and billing according to the Tulsa World.

Also according to the Tulsa World:

Under state law, AEP-PSO can institute some or all of the requested $47.9 million increase sought in the rate case because of the absence of a final order after a 180-day period.

Actually the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is slower than 180 days, more like 180 days plus a lot more.

AEP-PSO’s rate increase request was submitted on September 29, 2006. The 180 day limit within which the Corporation Commission is required by law to act expired on May 20, 2007. A 30 day extension was implemented for a decision. That extension ended on Jun 20th. And here we are on July 7th and the Corporation Commission is supposedly “preparing a final order for later this month” on the AEP-PSO rate increase.

So what the heck has the Oklahoma Corporation Commission been doing since September 29th of last year?

Beats me, but it is obvious that AEP-PSO is tired of waiting on an answer and is taking matters into its own hands, hedging its bets with a rate increase it feels safely within what the Corporation Commission will allow, if and when the Commission gets around to it later this month.

Or will it be next month?

Or maybe next year?

Not having seen the audit results of AEP-PSO’s operations in Oklahoma it is impossible to know whether a rate increase or rate decrease is justified. Us mere morals do not have access to the information necessary for a determination. We only know we have to pay the electric bills.

What we do have however is proof positive that the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is either lazy, inept or simply afraid to render a decision that will adversely affect either AEP-PSO or its customers. In this regard, both the utility and its customers are figuratively in the dark.

Only problem is that while the utility can now arbitrarily raise it rates, we customers can not arbitrarily lower those rates while waiting to learn what the Oklahoma Corporation Commission will ultimately do.

Assuming it eventually does something…

For reference see: Electricity rates to increase