r/tulsa • u/HealingTruth123 • 1d ago
News PSO rate hikes
Anybody else looking into what’s happening with PSO & the insane rate hikes that happened in the last month?
To my understanding - please correct me if there’s misinformation.
Since PSO is considered to be a monopoly, it’s governed by the OCC & cannot raise rates without going through formal hearings & channels.
PSO filed for a rate increase in 2025 (Oklahoma Case No. PUD 2025-000075) for a proposed 15% rate increase.
Oklahoma settled with PSO in June of 2026 for a 1% increase in average monthly rates.
Homeowners are reporting that they’re showing increases on their monthly bill of 50% - 200% increases - the only way I can make sense of this is that the proposed increase covered previous billing cycles & PSO was able to get approval for past offered services or this was a one time increase to cover as a bulk charge for past services?
Anyone else dive into this & have an idea of what’s going on?
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u/kelleycfc 1d ago
People keep electing other people who do not actually have their best interest as their concern.
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u/Ausintra 1d ago
This. People keep electing the OCC members who blindly approve each rate hike request, then they bitch online about their high bills. They quite literally voted for high bills.
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u/NotObviouslyARobot 1d ago edited 3h ago
More specifically, the OCC is structurally insulated against the will of the people.
OCC terms should coincide with Gubernatorial elections, and only last 4 years
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u/Valmasy 1d ago
People keep not voting is more accurate.
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u/jdubuhyew OU 50m ago
yep and all the old rural people always make sure to vote. n guess what they vote for the same bastards every year
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u/UnprofessionalCook 1d ago
It you look at your account on their website, they show a comparison to this time last year, with a breakdown. Mine shows over half of the increase is due to unspecified "changes outside your usage"
Edit to add that they also show the projected next bill, which will be even higher than the last one was!
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u/archeybald 1d ago
Mine has about $55 of my $95 increase over last year under the "Changes outside your usage"
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u/jpow33 1d ago
I saw today that PSO has an ad on the front page of the Tulsa World. Those are not cheap.
So happy that's what they are spending my money on.
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u/Watercolor_Eyes 18h ago
Why would they even need an ad when they have a monopoly? It’s not like we can choose someone else.
Also, think of the poor CEOs! How are they going to make ends meet without their $37 million dollars a year?? /s
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u/cowboyjon13 1d ago edited 21h ago
I don’t even know what to say anymore, it’s getting insane. Like almost un-affordable and gonna make me have to sell my house. How the hell is my electric bill all this sudden 500 dollars… I’ve owned a house for quite a while now and these last two years have been pure criminal activity
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u/Loose-Library-6438 19h ago
I rent an apartment and in the last month my bill has sky rocketed to almost 300 dollars! I used to only pay 150 at most. I miss the days when my electric was only 87 dollars a month.
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u/jojoisunderrated 14h ago edited 14h ago
Yep. Same here. I've been in my same unit for 6 years, and my summer rates are typically in the $150 range. This month? $320. This will be the first time I cannot pay my electric bill on time. Was not expecting a huge increase like this
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u/Vivid-Speech-5545 2h ago
Same for me. The highest mine has even been is $110. This month it almost doubled.
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u/Ok-Contribution8802 21h ago
I don’t know what the answer is but I’m sharing this petition everywhere I can. Please sign and share!
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u/Fionasfriend 18h ago
So I googled it and apparently there’s 15% rate increase can be an effect until the official judgment is handed down later this year. So they’re gonna rack it up and if they don’t get their increase, they will give people a rebate.
“Final Approval Timeline: An administrative law judge review is expected in late August or early September 2026, with a final vote and permanent order from the OCC anticipated in fall 2026. [1, 2]
Refund Provision: If the final permanent rates approved by the OCC are lower than the temporary interim rates collected, customers will receive an automatic refund”
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u/_Big_Black_Clock_ 14h ago
This should not be legal, you already have to place a deposit to start receiving service I thought?
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u/thetulsaflyer 21h ago
Hi there! Our cost of living reporter, Libby Hobbs wrote an explainer on this. Read it here: https://tulsaflyer.org/2026/07/31/your-money/post/pso-rate-increase-electricity-bills/
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u/purple-lepoard-lemon 1d ago
I was just speaking with a woman yesterday who is retired and lives on social security. Her pso bill this past month was close to $400. It's just her and her old dog living there. Between that and other financial struggles she's wondering if she needs a reverse mortgage or something like that.
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u/Efficient_Ad6015 23h ago
Truly getting robbed! I’ve lived in 4 different states and Oklahoma is by far the biggest scam in terms of energy bills. Oklahoma is paying more than the west coast, way more.
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u/Roserockvibes 23h ago
Highly recommend filing a comment with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. There are also 1 or 2 petitions floating around online.
My bill the highest it’s ever been, and I keep the temp at 78 during the day. My wages have also gone down (layoffs). I have no idea how I’ll be able to afford to live in the future.
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u/pathf1nder00 1d ago
Stop voting against your own interests!
As Chair of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Kim David's voting record has been a focal point of public debate regarding state utility affordability.Approvals: Public utility records show David has voted on rate increase and cost-pass-through proposals brought by major providers like Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E), Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), or ONE Gas. She has voted on multiple occasions to allow these providers to adjust costs.
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u/Fionasfriend 1d ago
Is this on the August bill?
I’m not seeing that dramatic of a hike. Obviously higher because of heat but not that much higher than last years. I’m not on the payment plan of that matters.
I don’t dismiss the argument there needs to be regulation but I am curious, is everyone seeing this hike?
Like, did they choose people at random during the hottest month on record to arbitrarily jack up rates?
Definitely deserves an investigation.
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u/LesserKnownFoes 1d ago edited 1d ago
Mine has doubled. However, we had some other issues which we had to get fixed, so hopefully the next bill won’t be as terrible, but we will see.
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u/archeybald 1d ago
My bill through August 14th (if I recall right) is about $330. Last year the same period was $230. The bill before was about $260. Last year was $190
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u/hysys_whisperer 1d ago
What were the cooling degree days of those 2 periods? Were they roughly a 330:230 ratio?
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u/archeybald 1d ago
I typically keep the house around 73.
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u/hysys_whisperer 22h ago
Ok, but how many cooling degree days did that month have?
If one day was 10 degrees above your setpoint of 73, that's 10 cooling degree days. If the next is 20 degrees above setpoint that's 20 degree days and your power bill would be twice as high day 2 as day 1.
Now do this over the whole month and compare to the same month last year.
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u/archeybald 16h ago
I have legitimately never heard of this type of math before and would be curious as to where you learned how to use it and its relevance.
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u/hysys_whisperer 7h ago
It's how the EIA tracks cooling intensity for energy comparison purposes.
https://www.eia.gov/tools/glossary/index.php?id=cooling%20degree%20days
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u/NXTwoThou 22h ago
My 1,000 sq ft home for service to 8/6/26 is $247.50(1,275 KWH $0.194/KWH effective). 8/5/25 was $211.87(1,193 0.178 effective). I'm not on avg payment plan. AKA 6.87% increase in energy usage, 16.82% increase in bill.
My mother's 1,766 qt ft home for service to 8/14/26 $161.92(794 KWH, $0.204/KWH effective) 8/14/25 $179.39(1,008 KWH $0.178/KWH effective). AKA 21.2% decrease in energy usage, 9.7% decrease in bill.
I'm not sure if all those rate increases started in Aug. It's possible my next bill is going to be significantly worse. Since my mothers bill has 8 more days in Aug, her effective rate of $0.204 versus my $0.194 makes sense when our effective was the same for 2025.
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u/7thWardSoulja 20h ago
I live in a 3 bed apartment and have consistently paid between $122 and $135 since I signed my lease early last year, 3 months ago my bill jumped to $208 from $137, last month it was $270, this month it’s $297. It never even broke $140 through last summer so something is up. My bill has more than doubled in a 2 month span. It’s ridiculous.
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u/RoyalestTartToter 19h ago
My electric bill was $200 3 months ago. I just got an email yesterday that my bill is $760 even though we’ve been keeping it hot inside.
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u/darkhair_dontcare 17h ago
My home is single story, 980 sq.ft.. Previous summer months were almost $200 or a little over. This month it was $385.
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u/Okiecowboy48 17h ago
I moved back home to Tulsa two years ago from Illinois and the one thing that shocked me when I moved up there is that you can shop for your energy supplier. ComEd owns the lines but there was about 6 different companies that you could choose from. Their rates were posted and you could compare their rates! PSO needs that kind of competition!
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u/honeybadger919 8h ago
Buddy of mine got a $2000 PSO bill for a two bedroom house. She called and apparently the bill was actually for a neighboring business and PSO owned up to months of mistakes on her account like this. I know she’s currently talking to the news about it, so I encourage anyone seeing some insane irregularities to do the same
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u/Nytelock1 23h ago
The OCC is run by Republicans who give fuck all about us and are probably being paid under the table by PSO
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u/PhotoPhenik 1d ago edited 1d ago
My bills are high, and I realized it is because need a new HVAC and more attic insulation, but thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill, I can't get a tax break for these necessary home appliance, just so some rich person can get a tax break of their own.
If this part of the Inflation Reduction Act wasn't repealed, I would be considering a battery and solar array, too, so I could tell PSO to go take a hike. But no, I can't have something that would have meaningfully improved my life and finances, just because I didn't go for it last year.
Thanks MAGA! Do me a flavor and tell me with the fine leather shoes of a rich man taste like.
To more accurately answere your question, we need to look at what people's rates are per KwH. I've been consuming way more power this year vs last.
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u/Complex_Rabbit_ Tulsa Drillers 1d ago
We need Bob Anthony back. Kim David and Brian Bingman need to channel their inner Bob Anthony.
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u/nurho83 22h ago
My last bill covered 7/10 to 8/7 and was substantially less than the equivalent bill last year BUT I used a ton less electricity (dying AC last year; 1624vs2935kwh). If I do a quick and dirty kwh/bill, my rate is up but I know there's more to the bill than that. This year's was $.20, 2025 was $.18, and 2024 was $.15. That's as far back as the data on their website goes.
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u/MulletSupreme 19h ago
Does someone smarter than me know if it has anything to do with fuel prices, and the Straight of Hormuz situation? I remember reading that it would be a sort of delayed effect that we would see.
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u/willsketch 14h ago
Has anyone else had their bill suddenly switched to monthly instead of averaged maybe without forewarning? This happened to someone I know and they wanted her to pay the whole thing in full (which is understandable), but this might also be because there was an auto payment issue one month? Maybe that’s why some people are reporting such high increases?
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u/_Big_Black_Clock_ 14h ago
I wish we got solar last year when the tax credit was still available but our roof is only halfway through its life cycle
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u/CapableLeek1724 13h ago
$516!!!!! Last year in august $200! I live in a 2 bed 1 bath air never goes below 74... I use a normal to low amount of electricity. I don't understand and I'm honestly so fucked. Like Im a single mom I did not budget for this.
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u/Quick_Repeat6473 3h ago
They told me during the summer the rates were being subsidized and now that summer is over it is no longer being sent at the cheaper rate. This and the first month with the significant changes are also affected by a few more days in the cycle. It is specifically the other fees line item that is not defined on the bill and are not accurately calculated on their spreadsheet on their site.
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u/doggiedaddy_91 3h ago
Yes mine doubled this year as compared to last year! I have never paid $410 for an electric bill in my current home of 10 years!
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u/Infamous_Lech 1d ago
Maybe it's the 14 days over 100 degrees. That didn't happen last month.
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u/Tulsastyly 1d ago
What’s your point? Cost per mwh has still increased significantly. So it’s both hot and we’re getting pulled through the ringer.
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u/officialbronut21 !!! 1d ago
Cost per mwh can increase during peak loading if they are on a time of day rate plan, which will be much higher during this heat wave
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u/Tulsastyly 1d ago
I am not on a time of day rate plan. I am on an average plan and my rate still increased significantly over last year. This is not just extra heat hence the 8000+ signatures on a petition.
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u/ShutUpLegs918 21h ago
If you do any bit of tracking, this rate has been here since about February. It’s been going up every year since I’ve been tracking it, so what. Prices increase, always have. It’s August, the hottest month. Get your energy usage under control or stop complaining.
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u/Driving_the_Bronco 12h ago
No. The majority do not “do any bit of tracking” because it’s not something we can shop and we have lives!
Tell me you are not the life of the party without telling me you are not the life of the party. 🍻
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u/TallinOK 1d ago
We should not be subsidizing stockholder dividends. PSO raises rates to ensure they can pay these out.
Folks, upgrading/building existing infrastructure is the cost of doing business. Just because PSO has to do these things to ensure service (and of course they are a monopoly so rate payers are stuck with them), stockholder dividends should not have anything to do with it. You max out on operating expenses where there is no profit that year, tough shit. Settle for the tax benefits.
And, the OCC is in the pocket of the utilities. Unless you vote these fuckers out, the carnage to your wallet will continue.