Oklahoma Representative Tom Gann has filed two new actions with the Oklahoma Supreme Court as he continues challenging utility rate increases approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
The filings include Gann’s twelfth appeal involving utility rate cases and a request for the Court to pause enforcement of a recent decision while he seeks further review at the federal level.
The latest appeal challenges a June 5 ruling that denied Gann and more than 300 utility customers permission to intervene in Public Service Company of Oklahoma’s pending rate case. PSO is seeking a $600 million rate increase that would raise the average residential customer’s monthly bill by about $25 if approved.
Gann is joined in the appeal by former Oklahoma Representative Michael Ritze. Representatives Kevin West and Rick West have joined Gann in other utility-related appeals.
Gann argues utility customers were not given adequate notice of the rate case before the deadline to intervene and should have been allowed to participate in the proceedings.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court previously rejected one of Gann’s earlier appeals on procedural grounds, ruling he should have intervened in the Corporation Commission case first. Gann maintains customers did not receive notice until after the intervention deadline had passed.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission, PSO and the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office have 20 days to respond to the latest appeal.
