Members of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission have decided they need more time for research before ruling on a request from Public Service Company of Oklahoma.
PSO had asked the Internal Revenue Service to rule on a deferred tax expense program two years ago. The utility finally got a response recently.
If the OCC approved the move PSO would be eligible for $56 million in cost recovery. That would begin in November and result in a $5 per month increase in the bills received by the average residential customer.
The cost recovery is called a Net Operating Loss Carryforward revenue requirement, or an NOLC. The utility wanted to make sure it wouldn’t violate federal laws.
The IRS response indicated there had been violations but they were unintentional and it determined PSO was not guilty of violating laws.
An anticipated Wednesday hearing didn’t materialize when members of the Corporation Commission decided they needed more information before giving the go-ahead.
A lawyer with the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office was in the meeting room and was questioned about the situation. He was supportive of the idea of reviewing the issue before deciding whether to give PSO the approval it is seeking.