The Oklahoma Corporation Commission voted 3 to 0 on October 21 to delay its decision on OG&E’s proposed rules for very large electricity users, including AI data centers. The commission is the elected state body that sets the rates Oklahoma’s private utilities may charge. The rules OG&E wants approved are called a tariff, which is the formal schedule of prices and terms a utility must follow once the commission approves it. OK Energy Today
What the commission decided on October 21
The order sends the case back to an administrative law judge. That is a hearing officer who takes evidence and writes a recommendation for the commissioners to consider. A hearing on the merits is now set for 9 a.m. on January 12, 2027, after the commission had planned to decide the case on November 3, 2026. The order says testimony from other parties raised substantial legal and jurisdictional questions that the original schedule did not expect, so it adds more legal briefing.
Some of those questions come from Google, which is a party to the case. Google wants large customers to be able to buy power from independent generators while still using OG&E’s lines to receive it. OG&E has asked the other parties to show what Oklahoma law allows that arrangement. KTUL
| Item | Before the October 21 order | After the October 21 order |
|---|---|---|
| Hearing date | November 3, 2026 | January 12, 2027 |
| Who hears the evidence first | The commission at the November hearing | An administrative law judge |
| Written recommendation | A commission decision set for November | A full report from the judge |
| Legal briefing | Not scheduled | Required on the legal and jurisdictional questions |
What OG&E has proposed for large users
OG&E filed the proposal on June 18, 2026. It would apply to new customers that expect to use at least 75 megawatts. A megawatt is a unit of electric power, and the 75 megawatt threshold is measured as expected peak demand. It would also reach existing customers that add 75 megawatts or grow past 125 megawatts. OG&E press release
A covered customer would sign up for 15 years, with up to five years to ramp up its use. It would pay all of its grid connection costs upfront. It would also owe minimum monthly bills even when it uses less power, and fees if it leaves early or cuts its planned capacity. It would post financial collateral to back those duties. OG&E also proposes a monthly charge on these customers that would total $25 million to $30 million a year, credited to residential customers.
OG&E’s filing says it coincides with the enactment of House Bill 2992, according to coverage of the filing. The coverage says that law requires utilities to keep separate tariffs for large load customers, make those customers pay the costs fairly assigned to them, and commit them to a minimum term. OK Energy Today The law took effect July 1, 2026, and uses 75 megawatts as its threshold, the Journal Record reports. Journal Record
A developer signing with OG&E now is bound by the signed agreement
None of OG&E’s proposed terms has been approved. The delay itself approves no rate and decides nothing about who pays. FOX23 The 15 year term, the minimum bills and the exit fees remain proposals until the commission rules. The commission can approve, change or reject them.
A developer signing a service agreement with OG&E today is therefore bound by what that signed agreement says. OG&E has already announced agreements to serve three Google AI data centers in Oklahoma. OG&E OG&E’s public description of its proposal does not say how a final tariff would treat agreements signed before approval. A developer should not assume either answer.
OG&E’s separate base rate case, filed September 30, 2026, also runs on its own track. OG&E says that case does not include costs tied to electricity use by AI data centers. OG&E