PSO Lawsuit Over Rogers County Power Project Moves Forward
The efforts of Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) to move forward with a more than $1 billion energy project remain stalled over a lawsuit filed against Rogers County Commissioners and their Board of Adjustment.
The lawsuits filed by PSO after the Rogers County Board of Adjustment denied zoning for the utility’s planned addition of 450 MW of natural gas generation to the Units 5 and 6 at the existing plant near Oolagah are now in the hands of lawyers, both for the county and for the utility.
Zoning Dispute Centers on $539 Million Project
PSO contends the Board of County Commissioners and the Board of Adjustment “lack jurisdiction over the Northeastern Station property” where they refused to grant a Special Exception for PSO’s proposed $539.8 million project on the property in November 2025.
PSO’s second lawsuit, filed in January, was met earlier in March with the County asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuits. PSO responded last week arguing that the lawsuits should be allowed to proceed.
PSO Claims Regulatory Taking of Property
“The actions of the BOA denying permission for PSO’s proposed use of the Subject Property are arbitrary and capricious and result in substantial interference with the use and enjoyment of the Subject Property, or amount to an exercise of dominion and control over the Subject Property, either of which is a regulatory taking of PSO’s property in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States and Article 2, Section 24 of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma,” argued PSO in fighting the dismissal motion of Rogers County.
In other words, PSO contends it cannot develop the property permitted in the Zoning Ordinance adopted by the County Commissioners and in effect is a “taking of PSO’s property.” The utility says if that’s the case, it wants to be compensated in the amount of the project—nearly $540 million.
County Argues “Claim Splitting” in Legal Challenge
Rogers County District Attorney Matthew J. Ballard contends by filing two separate lawsuits, PSO is “claim splitting” which has been prohibited in Oklahoma legal cases.
The lawsuits were filed 45 days apart after the BOA announced November 18, 2025, it was denying PSO’s Application for a Special Exception. The first lawsuit was CV-2025-224 in Rogers County District Court to which the Rogers County Board of Adjustment filed a Notice of Appeal in December.
Rogers County now contends PSO chose not to file any instant declaratory judgment and instead drafted a petition “to manufacture a new cause of the action that erased PSO’s Application for Special Exception.”
The county argued PSO’s “new cause of action included vague allegations of jurisdictional authority, both past and future.”
Legal Arguments Focus on Jurisdiction and Authority
The District Attorney, in his argument for dismissal, said Oklahoma’s common law rule against claim splitting “prohibit a party from filing an action while another action is spending between the same parties for the same.” The county further informed the court that “PSO has two claims against the BOA.”
PSO contends it needs the zoning of the land, which sits in an unincorporated area of Rogers County, is needed in meeting its obligation to provide electricity to consumers and to meet the power requirements of the Southwest Power Pool (SPP).
PSO argues that when it comes to county zoning matters, state law exempts “facilities and property of electric cooperatives and public utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the Corporation Commission.”
“Both the statute and the Zoning Ordinance limit or eliminate the Defendants’ jurisdiction because PSO is a regulated public utility.”
Case Reassigned After Judge Recusal
When the second lawsuit was filed in January, it was assigned to District Judge Lara M. Russell who quickly recused herself “due to a conflict” and the case was reassigned to District Judge Stephen R. Pazzo Jr.
The outcome of the case could have broader implications for utility regulation, zoning authority, and the development of future natural gas power generation projects in Oklahoma.