Even if Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners rule in support of Public Service Company of Oklahoma and its request to raise rates to provide for two new natural gas generators and a battery energy storage system at its Oologah plant, the project still faces another hurdle.
A legal one.
As OK Energy Today reported months ago, PSO had to seek rezoning for the project which was one of 8 expanded power projects the utility said it needed in order to meet growing demands for more electricity. But the Rogers County Board of Adjustment denied the request and County Commissioners went along with the denial.
That led to lawsuits filed by the utility, the first of which (CV-2025-224) was filed in December of 2025. PSO followed up a month later with its second lawsuit which was filed against Rogers County Commissioners (CJ-2026-26) as well as the Board of Adjustment.
The judge in the case has set a hearing for May 19 at which time a decision could be made.
The case stems around PSO’s $540 million effort to convert a coal unit at the Oologah power plant to natural gas with the addition of two gas turbines and the battery storage. PSO needed a zoning variance but it was denied by the Board of Adjustment.
The board claims PSO was trying to circumvent local zoning laws and using claim-splitting which is prohibited under state law. PSO argues the Board of Zoning has no authority over it because it is a “regulated utility.”
“The statute excludes PSO from the need to obtain permission from county officials in order to use its Northeastern Station property for electricity generation and related facilities. These are purposes for which the property has been used since 1960,” stated PSO in its latest filing in Rogers County District Court.
The latest back-and-forth filings by PSO and the Rogers County District Attorney regard PSO’s request for a bifurcated case. It asks the judge to allow one trial to determine the liability or guilty in the first stage and for damages or punishment to be decided in the second trial.
The legal issue is already known by Corporation Commissioners who were reminded last week when a hearing was held on PSO’s $1.2 billion power expansion request. Attorney Thomas Schroedter, leader and attorney of the Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers, advised them to be careful in their decision.
“Number one, condition number one is, as you know from the testimony, PSO can’t build these plants, right? I mean, they don’t have zoning approval to build the plants. So you need to be very careful in your order, and I suggest that in your order, if you approve these units, you say subject to PSO providing proof, evidence, by a certain date, that it has secured zoning approval from the District Court of Rogers County.”
PSO contended in its Corporation Commission filing (2025-000064) it needs to move ahead with the construction, citing in its September 2025 filing, “Due to load growth in the service territory of PSO, the additional capacity and energy from Green Country did not negate the need for PSO to procure additional capacity “to meet all normal demands for service and provide a reasonable reserve for emergencies” as required by the Commission’s rule quoted above. Without acquiring additional SPP accredited capacity resources, PSO’s summer capacity position will be deficient 10 MW in 2027, 470 MW in 2028, and 1,766 MW in 2029.”