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Saturday, August 15, 2026 • Hot in the city… Highs near 100. ☀️
Poll results:
We received 225 votes on the Friday poll, “Should Oklahoma City and Tulsa have to reimburse the state for Gov. Stitt’s homeless encampment sweeps?”
24 said YES
143 said NO
53 said, “Only if the cities fail to enforce state law”
5 said UNSURE
New poll question at the bottom of today’s newsletter. (You can also suggest a poll question by emailing me at [email protected].)
Here’s why Oklahoma electric bills are going up and it’s not just data centers
From left, Fairo Mitchell, director of the public utilities for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Joy McGill, state director of advocacy for AARP, State Rep. Brad Boles, R-Marlow, and Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, at a town hall about electricity rates held Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, at the Bronson Brookside Library in Tulsa. (Andrea Eger/Oklahoma Watch)
By Andrea Eger, Oklahoma Watch
👉 Click to support their newsroom
Oklahomans are reporting sticker shock at the mailbox when opening their electric bills this summer. While artificial intelligence and the data centers needed to support them have become major subjects of public discourse, state lawmakers and regulators say they are only one part of a much larger explanation.
Simply put, some customers are seeing rate hikes, while rising regional transmission costs, summer air-conditioning use and continued investment in an aging grid are contributing to higher bills for all. Data centers pose an emerging demand challenge, but they are not the sole explanation for what customers are paying today.
Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, hosted a town hall on the subject Thursday evening as a direct result of questions and concerns she has been fielding from constituents. She is running for reelection, but rather than canvass House District 78 on foot in the summer heat, she has called more than 500 constituents.
“I ask what’s on their mind,” said Blancett. “A good percentage of the people I have ended up having conversations with or who text or email me back, say, ‘What the hell is going on with electricity rates?’ That was the impetus for doing this. This is not a campaign event – this is about good governance.”
For Tulsa-area customers, the most immediate change is at Public Service Company of Oklahoma. An interim rate adjustment took effect July 1 while the Oklahoma Corporation Commission considers PSO’s broader case to hike rates permanently.
“This is incredibly frustrating for retirees,” Tulsa resident Ellen Lannert told panelists during Thursday evening’s event. “We do the average, we do everything we can, we do the Power Hours, we keep the temperature at 79. We are beyond knowing what to do.”
The Backpack Everyone Notices
Your backpack says a lot before you even say a word. Find the newest Sprayground collection and start the school year your way.
The Oklahoma Rundown 📰
Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.
Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:
‘There is a difference’: James Taylor, Robert Franklin spar in runoff debate (NonDoc)
Drummond calls extreme Republicans fascists, Mazzei responds (KOSU)
Mazzei questions pollster's ties to pro-Drummond PAC in governor's race (The Oklahoman)*
SQ 846: On voting law, proponents concerned with posterity, critics concerned with posturing (NonDoc)
OKC’s fancy downtown master plan cost nearly $850,000… (The Lost Ogle)*
Oklahoma drought worsens as heat takes toll on farmers (News 9)
Large fire in Anadarko causes homes to be evacuated (KFOR)
FedEx driver acts fast after sparks start grass fire in Oklahoma (KFOR)
Minco faces critical water shortage due to clogged pipe (KOCO)
Report shows dozens of counties in Oklahoma considered maternity care deserts (Fox 25)
State troopers cleared a homeless encampment in Norman. Again. (The Frontier)
Pontotoc County inmate walks away from Enid prison (KXII)
New Oklahoma law gives cold case families a formal pathway to reopen investigations (KJRH)
Man found murdered in OKC homeless camp; suspect in custody (Oklahoma City Free Press)
Tulsa Police shoot suspect accused of aiming crossbow at officers (News On 6)
Neighbor’s doorbell footage helps Ardmore police track down shots fired suspect on Cottonwood Street (KXII)
Seniors connect with friends new and old at Tulsa’s Cherokee Nation community center (The Oklahoma Eagle)
Catoosa man creates app to help Tulsa-area animal shelters (KJRH)
Former New York Met, Lawton native Butch Huskey passes away at 54 (KSWO)
5 ways to spend your weekend in Tulsa Aug. 14-16 (Tulsa Flyer)
🎙️ Oklahoma Memo Podcast 🎙️
OKLAHOMA MEMO
The Air Force One decoy controversy and a deepening crisis aboard the USS Lincoln
Saturday Poll
Compared with last summer, how has your household electric bill changed?
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