Oklahoma Gas & Electric Pushes Rate Hike Request

"We have spent a lot of money above and beyond what our prices covered in 2004. And we can't keep doing that," said Paul Renfrow, vice president for public affairs for the utility.

A spokesman for OG&E, Brian Alford, said it is experiencing many of the same infrastructure issues and costs associated with new technology as are other utilities.

"OG&E is not alone in the need to continue to invest. There is a need to invest to ensure long-term viability," Alford said, adding that the utility's distribution system "is nearing the end of its useful life."

The largest rate increase OG&E has ever received was $141.3 million in the early 1980s. But the company said its Oklahoma rates are about 25 percent below the national average and will remain below the national average even with the proposed increase.

Last year, OG&E acquired a 51 percent interest in the 1,230-megawatt Redbud plant near Luther for a purchase price of about $434.5 million. The purchase followed the Corporation Commission's decision in 2007 to deny pre-approval of costs associated with building a 950-megawatt coal-fired plant near Red Rock in northern Oklahoma.