The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Wednesday asked the Ohio Public Utilities Commission to overturn a motion to compel depositions from the OCC’s witnesses in Duke Energy Ohio’s pending electric and gas distribution rate cases.

The OCC said Duke filed its request for depositions on Feb. 28, nearly six weeks after the Jan. 18 discovery deadline set by PUC rules. The OCC is asking the PUC to overturn an order by Attorney Examiner Katie L. Stenman compelling the depositions.

Duke filed a request in June 2012 seeking an $86 million increase in electric distribution rates and a $44 million increase in gas rates. The company’s last electric base rate increase was in 2009.