Auditing Fuel Costs

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Public Utility Division (PUD) reviews the processes utilities use to purchase commodities during its annual fuel audits. Almost all fuel purchased on the behalf of Oklahoma ratepayers is procured through competitive bidding. The annual review looks in depth at bidding processes, bid evaluations, and contract negotiations. PUD considers whether or not the winning bid was the lowest cost for ratepayers while still ensuring the bid was reasonable. PUD reviews the process to ensure that affiliated bidders are not given preferential treatment.

In addition to price, it is also important to consider the reliability of the bidder in electricity or gas. Suppliers must show an ability to guarantee delivery to avoid disruption of utility services.

Yes, your utility may require a deposit to guarantee future payment if you:

Have not had residential service with the utility for 12 consecutive months within the past one and one-half years,

Were late paying your bill twice during that time, if you had service,

Paid with a check that was not honored by your bank during that period, or

Had your service disconnected for non-payment.

If your deposit was refunded but later you were late in paying or had other payment issues, the utility may reinstitute a deposit requirement, and you will need to meet the criteria above again to receive a refund.

An electric cooperative must pay interest on customer deposits only if the cooperative's bylaws require members to pay costs that are not covered by electricity rates charged during the year.

Yes, your business utility may require a deposit to guarantee future payment, as stated in the utility's written deposit policy.

An electric cooperative must pay interest on customer deposits only if the cooperative's bylaws require members to pay costs that are not covered by electricity rates charged during the year.

An electric cooperative must pay interest on deposits only if its bylaws provide for assignment of margins to members or consumers.

The residential deposit cannot be more than one-sixth of your total estimated utility bill for the coming year. For example, if your electric company estimated your total bill for the year should be about $930, your deposit could be up to $155.

There is generally a delay of two months from the time the companies purchase fuel to the time it is billed to customers. For example, fuel purchased in May would be billed to customers in July. Most utilities also have tariffs that require them to change the fuel factor less frequently to minimize volatility. Due to this practice, the companies are required to maintain an over/under recovery account to insure that only the actual cost of fuel, no more and no less, is billed to the consumers. This account is trued-up periodically and audited by PUD and other parties, including the Attorney General. This true-up can result in a fuel rate that can be either a positive or negative adjustment, depending on the market.

It is also important to note that the commodity or fuel portion on your bill includes more than just the commodity cost. The companies are required to have other consumer protections in place which require additional costs to be passed on to ratepayers. These costs are directly associated with getting natural gas or electricity in to the regulated utilities distribution system. These costs include, but are not limited to transport, storage, and reservation fees.

Current annual fuel reviews can be monitored through the Commission's active energy cases link and imaging system.

For a full list of all current fuel review cases, go to the PUD Reports page and view the active cases document.

All public documents associated with the listed cases can be viewed through the OCC Imaging system. Follow the link below to review all documents filed in the above cases:

• For PUD cases, use this link and enter the case number that you would like to view.  Enter "PUD" in the case type field. This will allow you to view the application, legal motions, testimony, accounting exhibits, and Commission Orders.