Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners will continue their hearing Wednesday into the controversial request of Public Service Company for preapproval of its $730 million acquisition of the Green Country Power Plant in Jenks.
PSO wants authority to pass along a total of $753 million in costs to ratepayers, claiming the power plant is needed to meet growing demand for electricity production. But an Administrative Law Judge is recommending denial of the request, stating that the request “does not meet the standard set for preapproval in 17 O.S. § 286(C).”
Commissioners were further told by Administrative Law Judge Carly Ortel “The costs associated with Green Country are unreasonable and largely unknown.”
PSO presented its defense of the request during a Monday meeting of the commission with attorney Jack Fite telling commissioners, “The Administrative law judge was in error and misconstrued the rules of the Commission.”
Opponents argued otherwise, saying the judge was correct in her recommended denial. Thomas Schroedter, the Executive Director and General Counsel of the Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers stated the judge’s recommendation was supported by “substantial evidence” and PSO’s request should be met with “outright denial.”
He also charged PSO did not comply with the Commission’s requirement of competitive bidding.
The Commission’s Public Utilities Division, the AARP, and the Oklahoma Petroleum Alliance further raised the issue that the power plant is 23 years of age. If PSO’s request is approved, it would increase the average residential ratepayer’s monthly bill by $7.24.
The agenda for the 1:30 p.m. meeting is listed below:
A. Call to order
B. Announcement concerning public notice
C. Determination of quorum
II. Approval of minutes of prior meeting(s)
III. Consideration of and possible vote(s) on proposed or potential orders in cases on the daily signing agenda docket. The Commission may discuss and consider alterations, revisions, or amendments to the proposed or potential orders. (Votes may be taken on individual cases, on the daily signing agenda docket as a whole, or both by individual cases and the remaining docket. The vote on daily signing agenda cases may be combined with the vote on 24-hour signing agenda cases.)
IV. Consideration of and possible vote(s) on proposed or potential orders in cases on attached 24-hour signing agenda docket. The Commission may discuss and consider alterations, revisions, or amendments to the proposed or potential orders. (Votes may
be taken on individual cases on the 24-hour signing agenda docket as a whole, or both by individual cases and the remaining docket.)
The Commission may take up the above items of business in a different sequence than that listed. The meeting is open to the public. If public comment is listed on an agenda item, and authorized, each speaker will be allowed no more than five (5) minutes, and the subject must pertain to the agenda item.
This notice was posted prominently and publicly at the principal offices of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission at the Will Rogers Memorial Office Building, 2401 North Lincoln
Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105 at 12:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
V. Discussion and possible vote(s) on a proposed Final Order in Case No. PUD2024-000032, Application of Public Service Company of Oklahoma, an Oklahoma Corporation, for a Proceeding Before the Commission En Banc as Provided for by
Order No. 738226 to Address the Private Letter Ruling Received from the Internal Revenue Service, and/or any alternations, revisions, or amendments thereto proposed at the meeting
VI. Deliberation, discussion and possible vote(s) related to Case No. PUD2024-000057, Application of Public Service Company of Oklahoma for an Order of the Commission Granting Preapproval of the Purchase and Cost Recovery of the Green Country
Generating Facility and Authorizing a Recovery Rider
VII. A. Discussion and possible vote(s) to formally request that the Commission become a member of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (“SEARUC”)
B. Discussion and possible vote(s) to formally request that the Commission withdraw membership in the Mid-America Regulatory Conference (“MARC”)
VIII. Briefing and discussion from Commission Staff concerning the status of allowing proposed orders to be uploaded, submitted, and tracked through the Commission’s Electronic Case Filing (“ECF”) System, and possible delays due to anticipated decreased appropriations
IX. New business
A. Any matter not known about and which could not have been reasonably foreseen 24 hours before the meeting
B. Possible vote(s) on matters of new business
X. Adjournment
