After listening for nearly 90 minutes to consumer groups and staff recommendations, Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners on Thursday formally agreed to close an inquiry into the development of energy storage in the state.
“We kept it open much longer than normal,” said Brandy Wreath, Director of the Commission’s Public Utilities Division. “We do not have the time over the next three to six months and any more input would not be getting the attention of staff.”
He urge the commission to follow through with a closing of the Notice of Inquiry which was made in August 2020.
“I don’t believe in wasting people’s time,” he added in speaking to the three commissioners during their Thursday morning meeting. Commission Chair Brenda Murphy and Commissioner Todd Hiett agreed and voted to support the formal motion to close the inquiry while Commissioner Bob Anthony chose not to vote.
Originally, a hearing was scheduled by the commission to receive input regarding the subject matter. After the commission staff last week urged a closing of the inquiry, the Alliance for Electrical Restructuring in Oklahoma filed a motion to continue with the inquiry.
Its motion was to extend time for consideration of electric utility deregulation in Oklahoma but in a filing this week, Oklahoma Gas & Electric opposed the move.
OG&E argued that such consideration would be contrary to the best interests of customers and various stakeholders. The utility pointed to what it called “significant risks” and “documented failures of deregulation” in other jurisdictions.
The Commission’s Public Utilities Division responded with a filing this week as well, stating that AERO misunderstood the purpose of the Notice of Inquiry process which is to identify and examine issues. The PUD statement said “NOIs are strictly for gathering information.”
