Rep. Tom Gann has taken his fight over future electric bills to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, challenging an Oklahoma Corporation Commission order that preapproved roughly $1.3 billion in new capacity for Public Service Company of Oklahoma. Gann argues the projects, aimed at powering proposed data centers and a planned Emirates Global Aluminium smelter in Inola, would push too many costs onto residential customers. He has also filed motions at the OCC asking regulators to weigh in again and to disqualify Commissioner Todd Hiett, setting up parallel battles at the commission and at the state’s highest court.
Gann’s appeal lands at the state Supreme Court
Gann filed a petition in error with the Oklahoma Supreme Court on May 22, listing the Corporation Commission and PSO as appellees. The case is catalogued as No. CU‑124090 and shows early entries by Gann followed by responses from intervening parties, according to the Oklahoma State Courts Network.
What the OCC approved
In mid May the OCC voted to preapprove about $1.255 billion in projects for PSO, a package of wind purchase agreements, battery energy storage systems and new natural gas capacity totaling roughly 1,299 megawatts, which the utility says is needed to meet forecasted load growth. The order includes limits intended to protect households from immediate bill shocks, but critics argue the financing tools still risk shifting long term costs to residential customers, as reported by KGOU.
New backers and constitutional questions
AARP and the Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers formally joined Gann’s appeal on May 29, filing responses that challenge one of the financing mechanisms the OCC approved. Their filings argue that the Commission’s reliance on construction work in progress recovery rests in part on a law passed in 2025 and raises constitutional questions about collecting costs before projects are in service, according to Oklahoma State Courts Network records and utilities and AEP disclosures that have noted the effects of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings on Senate Bill 998.
Hundreds of customers enter the PSO rate fight
Gann and more than 300 other PSO customers have filed entries of appearance in PSO’s parallel rate case at the OCC, where the utility is seeking an additional $600 million in revenues, the Oklahoma House reported. “The Oklahoma Constitution prohibits the OCC from approving rates for PSO’s residential customers that are not ‘reasonable and just,’” Gann wrote in his Statement of Position, per the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
Smelter, data centers and the new law
The contested capacity is tied to prospective large load customers: a multibillion dollar Emirates Global Aluminium and Century Aluminum smelter proposed for Inola and a wave of data center projects seeking space in northeast Oklahoma. The smelter application and the data center boom helped spur the Data Center Customer Ratepayer Protection Act (HB 2992), which requires large new loads to shoulder infrastructure costs, but lawmakers and consumer groups say the OCC order still leaves open the question of who ultimately pays, per Data Center Knowledge and state permitting notices.
Legal implications
If the Supreme Court sides with Gann, it could narrow how the OCC uses preapproval and construction work in progress authorities and force utilities to change how they finance new capacity and how large customers guarantee grid upgrades. The ethics angle, with Gann asking the court to review Commissioner Todd Hiett’s participation, adds another layer. The Ethics Commission dismissed related complaints in May 2025, but that ruling is now folded into broader appellate briefing, as reported by NonDoc.
Both the OCC rate proceeding and the Oklahoma Supreme Court appeal are expected to unfold over the summer. Interested readers can follow filings on the Commission’s case page for PUD2025‑000064 at the OCC for the rate docket and check the Supreme Court docket for CU‑124090 for the appeal.
