With a split vote on Thursday, Oklahoma regulators stood by their original denial of allowing Oklahoma Gas and Electric to charge ratepayers for an energy expansion project while it is under construction.
The utility offered immediate reaction in which it said it plans to appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
“OG&E is disappointed the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) ignored state law by dismissing OG&E’s request to apply Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) for Horseshoe Lake units 13 and 14, which would save customers $173 million over the life of the units.
“OG&E is filing an appeal today to the Oklahoma Supreme Court because the project meets all requirements in state law, which mandates CWIP for the construction of natural gas-powered generation in the state. Supreme Court action is necessary to ensure these savings for our customers. OG&E will also file a motion for expedited review, as time is of the essence to secure these customer savings,” stated the utility in its announcement.
Christi Woodworth, Chief Communications Officer and Chief of Staff for OG&E said, “CWIP is the mechanism by which the legislature provided a solution to the challenges of meeting upcoming energy demand and necessary power generation. The Commission refuses to implement the legislature’s policy determination aimed at building new generation at the lowest cost to customers.”
Commissioners Brian Bingman and Todd Hiett voted to deny the Construction Work in Progress request while Commissioner Kim David voted against the denial motion. It was a change from the original denial made in 2025 when Bingman and David were for the denial while Hiett opposed it.
OGE’s original request was denied last November as the utility wanted to use the CWIP law and have consumers pay for the ongoing construction costs for two new natural gas fired combustion turbines at the Horseshoe Lake Units 13 & 14 at the power plant in eastern Oklahoma county.
Commissioners voted last year against the utility’s CWIP application, contending the first request was made before SB998 went into effect.
“The Commission concludes that the timing of OG&E’s Application precludes any requirement under SB 998 that the Commission approve CWIP recovery for HSL 13 & 14 in this Case. Based on the arguments set forth above, the Commission hereby grants OIEC’s motion and concludes that SB 998 does not apply to this Case,” the commission’s final order stated.
The regulators okayed the two new units for Horseshoe Lake but on a 2-1 decision, voted down the use of CWIP.
It was during that meeting when Commissioner Hiett voted against the order, contending what Commissioner Bingman proposed had been drawn up by OG&E. He said the rewrite of Bingman’s original CWIP denial was “nothing but propaganda” and “monopoly propaganda for deregulation of monopoly utilities.”
Hiett further charged the utilities had spent millions of dollars on the legislature and repeated his contention the order was “nothing but propaganda for CWIP” and a “complete dismantling” of the original order. The Commissioner said the commission should oppose the order. “We should stand up against that—we’re the only thing ratepayers have.”
As the Commission later explained, “On Nov. 13, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) approved OG&E’s request to build two new, natural gas combustion turbine power generation units (Units 13 and 14) at its Horseshoe Lake Power Plant in eastern Oklahoma County and to enter into two long-term agreements for additional power needs from third parties to meet the energy demand needs of our growing service area. Combined, the new generating units and long-term capacity contracts provide approximately 850 megawatts of energy and are an important step in meeting OG&E’s overall generation needs for the future.”
However, OG&E declared that the Horseshoe Lake Units 13 & 14 met all the statutory requirements for CWIP recovery and that the Corporation Commission had granted “preapproval.” It also clarified that the units “that are not yet operational.”
“Horseshoe Lake Units 13 and 14 (“HL 13 & 14”) are such facilities, and CWIP recovery is therefore an entitlement as a matter of law,” stated OG&E in its request filed in December 2025 as Case No. PUD2025–000082.
Commissioner Brian Bingman called for a vote to deny what OG&E sought and had the support of Commissioner Todd Hiett.
“I’ve looked at the order and I think it’s a very accurate reflection of the record. I think it’s a very sound interpretation of the pertinent laws involved in this case,” said Hiett.
Commissioner Kim David thought otherwise and wanted more input on the issue.
“So my druthers would have been to go ahead and send this CWIP case to the ALJ to get the ALJ’s perspective on it, only because I feel like this is going to end up being a legal fight. It’s truly going to be whether they have the right to come back and ask for it after the fact.”
Her discussion raised the continuing issue of whether the state’s new CWIP law, which took effect last August through the legislature’s adoption of SB998, is constitutional.
“So I know this is probably going to go to the courts to decide whether they can request CWIP or not. We’ve all struggled with the fact that the legislature gave us CWIP and we’re not sure about the constitutionality of them even telling us how to do rate-making. So I would like for the courts to be able to decide that too because we are not a policy-making body,” she continued.
When SB998 was proposed last year in the legislature, all three commissioners took a public stand against it and even issued a public statement. David was quoted in the press release.
““SB998 only benefits the utility company at the expense of the ratepayer, who will be forced to fund these projects prior to receiving the benefits,” Commission Chairman Kim David said. “The Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) issue as imagined in SB998 goes against 100 years of ratemaking principles and usurps the constitutional duty of the statewide-elected Corporation Commissioners to keep rates fair, just, and reasonable.”