OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Gas & Electric is asking regulators to scrap what it calls an unconstitutional mandate forcing utilities to carry a regulator-directed political message on customer bills, escalating a growing clash over a state-authorized energy financing mechanism.
The dispute centers on Construction Work in Progress, or CWIP, which allows utilities to recover costs for major power plant projects while they are still under construction.
In a motion filed Thursday at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, OG&E challenged a recent order tied to Public Service Company of Oklahoma’s request to recover CWIP costs for new generation. The utility is not contesting the financing itself, but the message that would accompany it.
That message is a required line item on customer bills reading, “State Legislature Mandated CWIP Recovery – $X.XX.”
OG&E argues that language crosses a constitutional line by forcing a private company to deliver a regulator-crafted message through its own billing system.
The mandate “is an unconstitutional exercise in compelled political speech,” the company wrote, arguing it forces utilities to use their customer communications as a vehicle for messaging that goes beyond neutral cost disclosure.
Policy dispute spills into billing language
The dispute traces back to Senate Bill 998, which authorized CWIP as a tool to finance new electric generation. Utilities have backed the approach as a way to reduce long-term costs for customers by avoiding large financing charges that can accrue if recovery is delayed until projects are complete.
Regulators, however, have been reluctant to accept a policy dictated to them by another branch of government. While the Corporation Commission approved PSO’s CWIP request earlier this month, the order made clear the approval was driven by legislative mandate, not commission support for the policy itself.
The billing language appears to reflect that tension, explicitly tying the charge to lawmakers.
OG&E’s filing argues that decision pushes beyond the commission’s authority.
Free speech fight takes center stage
The Commission “cannot conscript the utility’s private billing platform to advance the Commission’s preferred narrative,” the motion states.
According to the filing, the required wording is not a neutral description of a charge but a directive to assign political responsibility, transforming a routine customer bill into a platform for what the company describes as inter-branch messaging.
Beyond the constitutional argument, OG&E maintains that even a factually accurate statement becomes problematic when the government dictates how and where a private entity must deliver it.
Broader concerns: authority, process and feasibility
OG&E raises a series of additional concerns about how the requirement was imposed.
The company argues the Commission lacks authority to dictate specific wording on customer bills, calling it an intrusion into utility management. It also notes the requirement was not proposed during hearings or supported by testimony, leaving no evidentiary record to justify the mandate.
That lack of process, OG&E contends, denied parties the opportunity to evaluate implementation, customer impact, or alternatives.
The filing also raises practical concerns. OG&E says its billing systems allow roughly 35 to 39 characters per line item, potentially too short to accommodate the mandated phrase without system changes.
Utilities back CWIP — but not the framing
Importantly, OG&E is not opposing CWIP itself.
The utility emphasizes it supports the financing model and has projected significant savings for customers compared to traditional cost recovery methods.
Instead, the company is drawing a line at how those costs are presented. If a separate line item is required, OG&E argues utilities should be allowed to use neutral descriptors, rather than language assigning responsibility to a specific branch of government.
A deeper rift between regulators and lawmakers
The filing underscores a broader and increasingly visible tension between the Corporation Commission and the Legislature over energy policy.
OG&E notes the Commission does not require similar attribution for other costs driven by regulatory decisions or statutory mandates, raising questions about why CWIP is being singled out.
Utility bills “are not the place to wage a political campaign against the Legislature,” the motion states.
What comes next
The Corporation Commission must now decide whether to strike the billing language or modify the order to allow more neutral wording. The outcome could shape not just how CWIP is implemented in Oklahoma, but how far regulators can go in directing the message utilities deliver to their customers.
Because in this fight, the question isn’t just what customers pay — it’s whether regulators can compel a private company to carry the Commission’s own message.
