The Grand River Dam Authority is going to the state legislature wanting approval for a $1.6 billion increase in bonding capacity so it can build two new natural gas units and refurbish a third.
As the state capitol website NonDoc reported this week, the request for legislative support is outlined in House Bill 1422 and is the second time in four years for such a request by the GRDA. It also has run into controversy as some legislators seriously question the need for the funding.
NonDoc also reported the large request is supported by the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, which stated in a recent letter, “The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma believes the time is now for the Oklahoma Legislature to support the investment in new natural gas-fueled generation by Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA).
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Outlined in House Bill 1422, the request marks the second time in four years that the state-owned public power utility has sought a bonding capacity increase. In 2022, GRDA’s bonding capacity was hiked from $1.41 billion to $2 billion in conjunction with a massive incentive package aimed at luring a Panasonic battery plant to northeast Oklahoma. While the Japanese manufacturer ultimately selected other states for battery plants and no state incentive payments were triggered, the situation did authorize the nearly $600 million increase in GRDA’s bonding capacity, which the non-appropriated agency used to finance its new natural gas “Unit 4” currently under construction.