The fight to determine who provides electrical power to the Tall Oak Woodford Cryo Plant in southeastern Oklahoma goes before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission on Thursday.
People’s Electric Cooperative, Inc., based in Ada has been attempting to stop Oklahoma Gas and Electric from serving the plant. The cooperative, in a filing in early 2019 claimed that OGE was serving the Tall Oak facility in violation of the Retail Electric Supplier Certified Territory Act.
OGE sought a protective order in August and attempted to have the case dismissed, arguing it could provide electricity under the legislature’s interpretation of the phrase “extending its service” under a state law.
People’s Electric, supported by the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives contends OGE is not providing power under the act “but in a manner not contemplated by the Act.” The cooperatives state that OGE applied to the Southwest Power Pool for the ability to ‘tap’ a third-party transmission line owned by Western Farmers Electric Cooperative then constructed a new substation to provide retail service “miles into Peoples certified territory.”
Peoples Electric contends the OGE service is a duplication of what it is already providing.
” People’s could serve the Plant with significantly less new infrastructure than OG&E, less waste of materials and resources and unnecessary encumbrance of the landscape. To illustrate the
magnitude of waste created by OG&E’s service to the Plant, Peoples can serve the Plant with expenditure of only $193,500. In contrast, OG&E spent approximately $5.6 million.”
Peoples contends OGE did the same in a 2018 case in the Commission. The Commission voted in March 2019 to block ONEOK’s plans to have OGE supply power to a pump station near Binger. In a 2-0 vote, with Commissioner Bob Anthony not voting, the regulators approved an order granting a request by CKEnergy to prevent OGE from providing power.
The Peoples Cooperative case goes before the Corporation Commission in its regular meeting at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
Tall Oak Midstream III, LLC began construction of the natural gas gathering system in 2017 to provide service for producers in the East STACK which covered Hughes County and parts of Seminole, Pontotoc, Coal, Pittsburg, Atoka and McIntosh counties.
Tall Oak III was created in 2017 with financial backing from EnCap Flatrock Midstream and the Tall Oak III management team.