Oklahoma Gas & Electric Pushes Rate Hike Request

TIM TALLEY

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Weeks of fact-finding and public hearings kick off this month as Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. makes its case for a $110 million rate hike the utility says it needs to upgrade its generation and distribution systems and keep up with rising customer demand for power.

But Oklahoma's largest utility is hardly setting a new trend among the nation's electricity generators by seeking more from its customers. Utilities in many states are asking regulators for higher rates to upgrade aging infrastructure and meet the nation's growing need for electricity.

"Utilities across the country over the past five years have definitely been going in for rate increases," said Ed Legge of the Washington, D.C.-based Edison Electric Institute, the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies.

"We've seen demand rise exponentially as Americans in general have become more wired in," Legge said. The rise in ownership of computers, cell phones, entertainment devices and other electronic gadgets has resulted in an explosion in demand.

Of the 70 investor-owned utilities that comprise EEI, most if not all have sought rate increases in recent years, Legge said.