Steve Metzer
Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Rising demand for electricity by residential and industrial consumers has sparked a nearly unprecedented era of investment in utility infrastructure that will raise bills across the nation by 15%-40% in the next five years, according to some projections.
In Oklahoma, Secretary of Energy and Environment Jeff Starling said projections vary as to how much typical residential bills in the Sooner State will be impacted, but he said people should expect to pay more for electricity in coming years.
Plans for construction or expansion of power-hungry data centers and for new industries like an aluminum production plant at the Tulsa Port of Inola have stirred concerns about impacts on residential bills, but Starling said rising demand for electricity is also being driven by other industries and at least as much, if not more, by the general “electrification of things” in ordinary households.
“We see data centers in the newspaper and on TV and everywhere else as one of the driving sources, and it is, but it’s also your phones, cars, appliances, air conditioning. … If you were to take data centers off the table, we would still need more electricity going forward,” he said.
Last year, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission approved plans for rate increases by the state’s two largest utilities, OG&E and PSO, that would amount to a $9.58 average bill increase for OG&E customers and a $12 increase for PSO customers. PSO, which serves nearly 573,000 customers in the Tulsa area and other parts of Oklahoma, had originally asked for an increase that would have added nearly $16 to the typical customer’s bill.
PSO has since proposed state approval of infrastructure investments it says are needed to meet customer demands in the future. Those plans would add another $10 a month to average bills. OG&E also has said it needs to invest more in its capacity to deliver electricity to consumers.
Rate increase proposals have met with opposition, including from AARP Oklahoma. State Director Sean Voskuhl said Oklahomans shouldn’t have to foot bills attributed to the needs of “large-load” customers like data centers. A better alternative, according to the AARP, would be to create a new class of heavy users that would pay large-load tariffs as part of their electricity bills.
“These large-load users, like a data center for instance, that’s a whole new ball of wax. If you don’t create a new class, that would be unfair to residential and small business customers,” Voskuhl said.
Oklahoma is not alone in trying to hold costs down while also planning for rapid growth in demand for electricity. According to industry adviser ICF, energy demand across the United States is anticipated to increase by 25% by 2030 and by 78% by 2050.
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Starling said Oklahoma may be better positioned than most other states. Electricity rates are cheaper here than they are in other parts of the country, and Oklahoma enjoys advantages because of its mix of resources, including abundant natural gas and wind, that can be tapped for new power generation.
“I think we will see some increase in what electricity costs going forward. That’s pretty clear, but we will fare as well or better than a lot of other places,” he said.
Citing data from the Energy Information Administration, Inside Climate News reported in September that the average household price of electricity in the U.S. rose by 9.5% in the first seven months of 2025.
Starling said costs of additional generation capacity demanded by large-load customers should be paid for by those customers.
“Those burdens should be borne by the folks needing the new electricity,” he said. “Getting that exact mix right is up to the Corporation Commission, … (which) has broad authority when it comes to large loads, doing rate cases and protecting the ratepayers.”
Asked if Oklahoma should be cautious about agreeing to host data centers, Starling said there are “mixed feelings” on the topic.
“I think it is certainly a national security issue, and we need to do our part for national security,” he said. “(However), they do use a lot of resources but oftentimes don’t come with a high number of jobs. And their need for electricity — maybe that electricity would be better (directed) on industries that bring a lot of jobs. Not all data centers are created equal, … so we need to really look at them probably case by case.”
Going forward, the energy secretary said he believes Oklahoma will lean more on natural gas-fired plants to produce electricity. He said the state may also benefit economically as other states demand more Oklahoma-produced natural gas.
In 2024, about 45.7% of the electricity produced in Oklahoma was generated by natural gas, and nearly the same percentage was generated by wind.
Starling said that big investments in wind made sense in previous years of “flat” demand growth and as the government provided for more industry incentives.
“As we go forward with increased electricity demand — large loads that are needed all the time — intermittent sources just don’t meet that demand,” he said. “(And) I am very much against tax subsidies for intermittent sources. … As we need more and more electricity, to continue to favor intermittent sources over dispatchable sources will make our grid less and less stable. I never say ‘all of the above.’ I say ‘best of the above,’ and that’s determined by an even playing field where the government shouldn’t be picking winners and losers.
“We have cheap and abundant natural gas here in Oklahoma,” Starling continued, “so I’m not only bullish on natural gas production in Oklahoma but on Oklahoma’s economic prospects over the coming decade.”
steve.metzer@
tulsaworld.com
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Steve Metzer
Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer
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