Utility rates under new scrutiny after U.S. corporate tax cuts

OKLAHOMA CITY – Public utility regulators from Oklahoma to Massachusetts are considering lowering the rates consumers pay for electricity and natural gas after a federal tax overhaul reduced the corporate income tax rate by 14 percent.

The law that went into effect Jan. 1 lowers the highest corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. Now, regulators and consumer groups including AARP are demanding that the rates consumers pay be rolled back to prevent utilities from receiving windfall profits.

Utilities are allowed to incorporate federal income tax obligations into the rates they charge customers. Bob Anthony, a member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities in the state, says it’s not fair to over-collect federal taxes from consumers.