If Wednesday’s meeting of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is anything like the PSO hearing held last week, it will be a lengthy session with plenty of attorneys on hand and lots of debate.
Commissioners will meet at 8:30 in the morning to begin their renewal of handling a request by Public Service Company of Oklahoma for approval of 8 energy production expansion projects totaling well more than $1 billion and possibly up to $3 billion.
Last week, the three commissioners listened to arguments in the case for 3 and one-half hours before adjourning and agreeing to continue the case until this week. This week, they will consider oral arguments requested by the Attorney General who raised exceptions to some of the recommendations of Administrative Law Judge Carly M. Ortel who urged approval of some of PSO’s energy expansion requests and denial for others.
PSO made seven agreements comprised of three Purchase and Sale Agreements, three Purchase Power Agreements and one Capacity Purchase Agreement. The utility also seeks preapproval of one self-build gas resource project to provide 450 MW, bringing the total of all projects to 1,200 MW. The eight generation resources consist of three wind resources, three battery energy storage system resources, and two natural gas
resources.
The Attorney General and the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma had previously argued the BESS or Battery Energy Storage Systems do not apply because they are not generators of electricity and the matter should be rejected by Corporation Commissioners. PSO’s proposed BESS projects are at Northeastern 1&2, Rock Falls and Dover. The Rock Falls project is a wind farm in Kay and Grant Counties. Northeastern is in Oologah.
In a filing with the OCC, the Attorney General maintained, “A BESS unit is not a machine capable of producing anything on its own, without the assistance of a separate generation facility, because batteries “resell withdrawn energy back into the market.”
The Attorney General also contends PSO’s request for expansion of gas generators at its Northeastern Units 5 & 6 project should be denied because the utility did not comply “with the competitive bidding rules.” PSO wants to build two new natural gas generation units to bolster reliability and have them completed and operational by 2029.
He has argued, “PSO has shown “repeated occurrences of acting outside the competitive bidding process.”
The following is the list of recommendations made in April from Judge Ortel.
i. Wind Energy Purchase Power Agreements (“PPAs”): Approve, with costs to be recovered through the Fuel Adjustment Clause (“FAC”) utilizing an energy allocator.
ii. Five-Year Kiamichi Capacity Purchase Agreement (“CPA”): Approve, with costs to be recovered through the FAC utilizing a demand allocator.
iii. Battery Energy Storage Systems (“BESS”) Purchase Sale Agreement (“PSA”) Projects: Deny.
iv. Northeastern Units 5&6 (“NE 5&6”) Project: Deny.
v. Energy Security Rider (“ESR”): The ESR is requested to be utilized for the BESS and NE 5&6 projects. Because the recommendation for these projects is denial, the issue
of the ESR is moot.
vi. Construction Work in Progress (“CWIP”) Recovery: CWIP is requested in relation to the NE 5&6 project. Because the recommendation for this project is denial, the issue
of CWIP is moot.
Corporation Commissioners are also being asked to hear oral arguments from the Attorney General in opposition to a request by Oklahoma Gas and Electric for approval of a battery energy storage system at Ponca City. OG&E included the BESS in its application for a need of additional power capacity beginning in 2028 of 1,0996 MW and growing to 2,592 MW by 2034.
“To address this need, OG&E filed its Application seeking approval of the Frontier Energy Storage Project, which is a 302 MW BESS project located in Kay County, Oklahoma,” wrote the utility in its application.
The BESS would total 302 MW with a cost of $394 million. OG&E estimated it would be completed in the second half of 2027. The Attorney General as well as Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers oppose OG&E’s plan to have the project built by Deriva, then assume ownership. The AG and OIEC believe consumers would be better served if OG&E used a Purchase Power Agreement to buy the electricity from Deriva rather than employment of a Purchase Sale Agreement.
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AGENDA
Item Topic
I. A. Call to order
B. Announcement concerning public notice
C. Determination of quorum
II. 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.)
III. Discussion of and possible vote(s) on a proposed Final Order in Case No. PUD2025-000064, Application of Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) for an Order of the Commission Preapproving the Acquisition and Cost Recovery of Generation Facilities to Allow PSO to Meet its Obligations Pursuant to OAC 165:35-25-3(e), and/or any alterations, revisions, or amendments thereto proposed at the meeting
IV. Case No. PUD2025-000084, In the Matter of the Application of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company for Commission Preapproval of New Generation Capacity Pursuant to
17 O.S. § 286(C) and Rider Cost Recovery, for:
A. Public comment and pre-hearing conference before an Administrative Law Judge
(“ALJ”)
B. To be considered by the Commission en banc:
1. Discussion, possible hearing, and possible vote(s) by the Commission on the Oklahoma Attorney General’s (“AG”) Motion for Oral Argument
2. Discussion, possible hearing, and possible vote to hear arguments on exceptions from the Oklahoma Attorney General and the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma to the Report and Recommendation of the ALJ on the Joint Motion of the Oklahoma Attorney General and the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma for Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction
C. Hearing on the Merits before an ALJ
V. Adjournment
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BEFORE THE CORPORATION COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF
OKLAHOMA 24 HR SIGNING AGENDA (PROPOSED ORDERS)
Case Number PUD2025-000075 Order Type Motion RSO OKC
Parties PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF OKLAHOMA (Applicant)
Relief In Caption APPLICATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE
COMPANY OF OKLAHOMA, AN OKLAHOMA
CORPORATION, FOR AN ADJUSTMENT IN ITS RATES AND
CHARGES AND THE ELECTRIC SERVICE RULES,
REGULATIONS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE FOR
ELECTRIC SERVICE IN THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA AND TO
APPROVE VARIOUS COST RECOVERY MECHANISMS AND
TARIFFS
Order Title ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL
Case Number PUD2025-000085 Order Type Final RSO OKC
Parties FRONTIER ENERGY STORAGE LLC
(Applicant)
Relief In Caption APPLICATION OF FRONTIER ENERGY
STORAGE LLC FOR A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY FOR
AN ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILITY Order Title FINAL ORDER GRANTING CERTIFICATE
OF AUTHORITY
Case Number PUD2026-000012 Order Type Motion RSO OKC
Parties ARKANSAS OKLAHOMA GAS
CORPORATION (Applicant)
Relief In Caption APPLICATION OF ARKANSAS
OKLAHOMA GAS CORPORATION FOR AN ADJUSTMENT
OF ITS RATES, CHARGES, TARIFFS AND TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE IN THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA,
AND REQUEST FOR WAIVER
Order Title ORDER GRANTING PROTECTIVE
ORDER