OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE) has filed an application with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to recover fuel costs associated with the recent winter weather event and minimize the impact on customer bills.

“Natural gas demand rose dramatically during the recent winter weather, which, combined with severe supply issues, caused a significant escalation in prices,” said Brian Alford, OG&E spokesman. “We estimate the cost to support our customers’ demand during the record low cold temperatures to be approximately $1 billion in terms of natural gas and purchased power. To add perspective, this amount exceeds our total fuel costs for all of last year.”

“Our normal recovery process would create an excessive burden for our customers because it would require us to recover the fuel costs over the remainder of 2021. We do not want that, so we are taking this unprecedented step to ask the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to extend the recovery period to 10 years instead of a few months. This alternative approach will keep costs down for customers and support State leaders’ efforts to lessen the burden on Oklahomans,” Alford said.

The Company’s application calls for including a portion of the associated fuel costs in its immediate recovery request, which would begin with the April 2021 billing cycle and continue the remainder of the calendar year. This initial step would result in a fuel cost-related increase of less than 10% for an average residential customer’s bill. To further mitigate the impact on customers, the company is seeking approval to establish alternative regulatory treatment that would delay recovery of the remaining and more substantial balance over a 10-year period beginning in January 2022.

Separate from fuel costs, Oklahoma residential customers may also see a onetime increase in their February bill if they had increased usage during the intense cold. The amount will vary based on factors such as how a customer heats their home – electricity versus natural gas, which is the primary heating source in Oklahoma.

The company plans to file its testimony in the proceedings within the next few weeks.

About OGE

OGE Energy Corp. is the parent company of OG&E, a regulated electric utility with approximately 865,000 customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas. In addition, OGE holds a 25.5 percent limited partner interest and a 50 percent general partner interest of Enable Midstream, created by the merger of OGE’s Enogex LLC midstream subsidiary and the pipeline and field services businesses of Houston-based CenterPoint Energy.