Customers of Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E), which holds the franchise for electrical services in Seminole, will see their bills go up beginning next month.

In November, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) approved an interim order that granted OG&E a nearly $127 million rate hike. On Wednesday, the OCC finalized the company’s request.

According to OG&E, customers will see an average increase of $12.65 starting in April. This is the second rate hike from the company in less than a year. In July, customers began paying about $9.58 more per month, per a previous rate increase request that was approved by the OCC.

AARP Oklahoma, a nonprofit that primarily represents senior adults, released a statement Thursday criticizing the rate hike, saying most customers won’t be able to afford higher bills.

“This order will make final OG&E’s saddling residential customers with a historic $126.6 million rate increase and raise utility bills more than $9 a month, an amount many customers simply cannot afford. OG&E began collecting this unprecedented rate hike on an interim basis on July 1, 2024, and the OCC approved OG&E’s interim rates on November 27, 2024,” AARP Oklahoma State Director Sean Voskuhl said in the statement.

“While AARP is disappointed in the overall outcome of the case, we are pleased our efforts were successful in rejecting OG&E’s proposed monthly customer charge increase from $13 to $21 a month. More than 3,700 AARP members called, emailed and signed petitions pleading with Corporation Commissioners not to approve yet another unreasonable rate hike from a company that made more than $425 million in profits last year. While customers are forced to choose between buying food and medicine and keeping the lights on, OG&E, year after year, rakes in millions of dollars in profits and continues to raise rates with no end in sight. OG&E will be back at the trough with another rate case expected to start midyear,” Voskuhl added.

OG&E is the largest electric utility in Oklahoma and delivers all of its electricity across an interconnected transmission and distribution system spanning 30,000 square miles.