Less than a month after Public Service Company presented alternative transmission power lines from the largest wind farm in the U.S. it is proposing, a setback occurred this week.
An Administrative Law Judge at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission recommended against preapproval for the Wind Catcher project to be located in the Panhandle.
Her decision left PSO executives disappointed but they also indicated that the corporation commissioners will go ahead and give its approval.
The recommendation came in a 136-page report from Judge Mary Candler who said PSO had failed to meet the burden of proof required for pre-approval and cost recovery of the 2,000 megawatt project.
In a 136-page report, the judge said the commission rules require a utility to request cost recovery preapproval before construction on the proposed project begins. She pointed out that construction on the Wind Catcher project is already underway.
The preapproval was opposed by Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter in a filing last year.
“I appreciate Judge Candler’s thorough review of the case and appreciate the recommendation to the commission to not allow pre-approval of this project to occur,” said Hunter in reaction to the recommendation. “Judge Candler carefully outlined what my office has been saying all along. PSO did not follow competitive bidding rules. The Wind Catcher project will be a net cost to customers of at least $320 million, based on our analysis.”
He said he hopes the commissioners “do the right thing for PSO ratepayers and uphold the judge’s recommendations.” Hunter’s own experts had testified that the company relied on flawed assumptions to develop its estimated ratepayer savings and the project presented significant reliability concerns.
Judge Candler also recommended denial stating PSO failed to meet a state law requirement that utilities had to show an existing need for additional need for electrical capacity.
PSO requested the ability to recover an estimated cost of $1.36 billion as it proposed to become a part-owner of the project. The company wants to also build a 765-kilowatt line capable of carrying 600 megawatts of electricity from the panhandle to a substation located north of Tulsa.
In a statement after the judge’s recommendation, PSO stated a rejection by the commission would “deny our customers the extraordinary savings that Wind Catcher would provide and would effectively stop one of the largest private investments in state history, which would deny the state and local communities the tax revenues and economic development benefits of Wind Catcher.”