After the Osage Minerals Council recently rejected PSO’s proposed electrical transmission line meant to carry power from the Panhandle to Northeast Oklahoma, the utility had to resort to an alternate plan. And the alternate plan isn’t making residents happy in southern Tulsa county who have organized and even created their own “Stop Windcatcher” website.
PSO this week notified landowners around Bixby of its intention to locate the line with massive towers in southern Tulsa county and will hold a public meeting next week
“We felt ambushed,” Lonni St. John of Bixby told News on 6 reporter Meagan Farley. She referred to it as an 11th hour letter from PSO.
PSO now intends to use an alternate route for the line that will carry power from the Wind Catcher wind farm near Guymon, a wind farm that if approved by the Corporation Commission will be the largest in the U.S.
“This project has been done behind closed doors. I think they’re lying to the people,” said St. John.
But PSO disagrees.
“Our main philosophy is to treat people with respect and to make sure landowners are fairly compensated if a line does come across their property,” responded Stan Whiteford, a spokesman for PSO.
He also confirmed a tight deadline faces the utility if it wants to receive federal tax credits. The utility wants the wind farm and the transmission line in place by 2020.
Mark St. John stands by his wife’s feelings about the utility’s plans.
“We’re not going to stand still for big corporation greed and somebody has to stand up and has to start somewhere,” he vowed.
The “Stop Windcatcher” website is urging residents to make known their opposition with AEP, the parent company of PSO that is based in Ohio.
“Residents of Oklahoma need to let AEP know that we don’t want this massive and potentially harmful project on our land,” stated the website. “AEP is looking for the path of least resistance and simply sees open pastures and green grass they can build on quickly and cheaply.”
The site called it a “land grab” by AEP.