01/08/2019 – OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Natural Gas (ONG) customers will see lower bills during the new year after the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) today voted in favor of an order that determines how the company will return money to customers from the 2017 federal tax cuts.
The order followed Attorney General Mike Hunter’s motions that asked for the state’s leading investor-owned utility companies to return tax savings to customers. The attorney general filed the motions the same day the tax cuts were passed.
ONG Customers will receive $22.7 million in savings over the next year. Customers will receive a rate reduction of approximately $11 million plus $11.7 million in one-time credits from ONG’s income tax savings after the federal income tax rate fell to 21 percent. The average residential customer will see approximately $15 in savings next month and a smaller balance in subsequent months for the rest of the year.
Attorney General Hunter said the rate reduction and credit comes at a particularly helpful time, with the coldest months of the winter still ahead.
“Winter is one of the most expensive times of year for natural gas utility customers,” Attorney General Hunter said. “Reducing rates and giving money back to customers will help a lot of Oklahomans. I commend the OCC commissioners, who approved this order. The state’s leading utility companies have seen major savings since the tax cuts took effect. The savings represent a windfall, over-collected from customers that needs to be returned to them.
“I appreciate the continued hard work and dedication of the staff in the Utility Regulation Unit in my office and everyone else who advocated for this money to go back to hard working Oklahomans.”
Read the order, here: https://bit.ly/2VAMOnb.
The attorney general’s Utility Regulation Unit advocates for reasonable rates for Oklahoma utility customers and compliance with rules designed to promote quality utility service. Attorneys and analysts within the unit are routinely involved in complex litigation to protect the interests of Oklahoma utility customers. Read more about the work of the Utility Regulation Unit, here: https://bit.ly/2CWxYA6.
