OK Corporation Commission is failing us
[Excerpts]
In the matter of the February Freeze and utility costs, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) is failing us.
OCC's own "Vision" promises to "hold itself and utilities accountable to the citizens of Oklahoma," but it allows secrecy and evades answering public questions.
VOICE is a coalition of churches and community groups concerned about issues affecting families, so we looked at OCC documents. Utilities don't profit from the February price spikes, so why secrecy? In the middle of the freeze, Oklahoma Natural Gas (ONG) asked the OCC on Feb. 16 to keep all price records secret. The OCC said yes after just 48 hours. We now know that ONG put Oklahomans in debt by an extra $1.3 billion in just nine days. VOICE filed questions asking whether ONG paid these extreme prices to related companies, or suppliers who were contracted to provide low-priced gas on those days. . . .