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A Tax on the Sun? That Is What Some Call a New Oklahoma Fee

Ion Solar

Is Oklahoma about to institute a “Sun Tax”?

The legislature has passed and the Governor has signed a measure allowing electric companies to charge an additional fee to customers who get part of their power from wind or solar energy.

The problem is the fee has not been set. That will be up to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

Seth Christ is with Ion Solar in Tulsa:

SETH CHRIST: “Mr. Customer, if you would like to install wind or solar, we want to charge an additional fee. Is it $5 a month, $50 a month, a $100 a month? We don’t know.”

He says older customers will be grandfathered, but he doesn’t understand why the state is turning its back on a green energy source.

SETH CHRIST: “All other progressive states are going the opposite way, you know, helping people. Solar and wind, Distributed Generation is what it is called, has value in our state. But, we are going the other way and creating a Sun Tax.”

He says that uncertainty is impacting business. Christ says until that fee is set; customers are hesitant to consider a greener source of power.

The Public Service Company of Oklahoma pushed for the plan. PSO's Stan Whiteford says the utility is not opposed to green energy. He says the wind does not blow nor does the sunshine 24/7.  Whiteford says it costs PSO to same to supply service to those solar customers during their (customers) no generation time. 

STAN WHITEFORD: "Senate Bill 1456 was not to pick winners or losers, but to make sure customers that have Distributed Generation and those who don't are neither advantaged or disadvantaged.

Whiteford says it is wrong to call it a fee or a tax. He says it is a but tariff.

STAN WHITEFORD: "All customers have a tariff. Residential customers are on the Residential Tariff. Industrial customers are on the Industrial Tariff. All parties involved will be creating a Distributed Generation Tariff at the Corporation Commission.

The law goes into effect in November. Christ expects a legal challenge to the law.