Public Service Company of Oklahoma

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Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) is a subsidiary of American Electric Power and incorporated on May 29, 1913. PSO serves approximately 527,000 customers in 230 cities and towns across 30,000 square miles of eastern and southwestern Oklahoma. PSO is headquartered in Tulsa, with regulatory and external affairs offices in Oklahoma City. The company's distribution operations are organized into three districts: Tulsa, Lawton, and McAlester.[1] PSO has a generation capacity of 4,400 megawatts (MW) and assets of $2.3 billion.[2]

Existing Coal Plants

Plant Name State Year(s) Built Capacity
Northeastern Station OK 1979, 1980 946 MW
Oklaunion Power Station TX 1986 720 MW

Public Service Company of Oklahoma to close 946 MW at Northeastern Station

Under an agreement between Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PSO will retire Unit 3 (473 MW) of its Northeastern Station by 2017, and Unit 4 (473 MW) of the station by 2026. In addition, PSO will install emissions controls on Unit 4. The agreement does not affect Units 1 and 2, which are fired by natural gas.[3]

Canceled Coal Plants

In January 2007, Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company filed a six-year construction plan with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. The plan included the construction of the Red Rock Generating Facility, a 950 MW generating plant that would be owned in partnership with PSO and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority.[4]

The Oklahoma State Legislature approved the process in 2005.[5] Chesapeake Energy Corp, the third largest independent gas producer in the US, and the Quality of Service Coalition, a group of utility consumers and cities that purchase power from a subsidiary of American Electric Power, asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to stop the Oklahoma Corporation Commission from considering pre-approval of the Red Rock Plant.[6][7]

On Sept. 10, 2007, with a 2-1 vote, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission denied the pre-approval permit for the plant, arguing that the utilities had not proven that they had sufficiently explored alternative forms of energy.[8] Oklahoma State Treasurer Scott Meacham also appeared in newspaper advertisements critical of the project.[9] On Oct. 11, the sponsors announced that they were discontinuing the project.[10]

Contact Information

Website: https://www.psoklahoma.com/

Articles and Resources

Sources

  1. "PSO History" PSO Website, August, 2009.
  2. "PSO Facts" PSO Website, August, 2009.
  3. Paul Monies, "Proposed settlement would retire coal units at Oologah power plant," NewsOK, April 24, 2012
  4. "OG&E Announces 6-Year Construction Initiative", OG&E corporate website, January 17, 2007.
  5. "Red Rock Coal-Fired Power Plant on the Road to Rejection", The Journal Record, September 11, 2007.
  6. "Comment from Chesapeake Energy Corporation Concerning Decision Regarding the Red Rock Power Plant", Business Wire, September 11, 2007.
  7. Statement of Position of Quality of Service Coalition, Legal Filing, accessed January 2008. (Pdf)
  8. OCC Denies Application for Red Rock Plant, AEP corporate website, September 10, 2007.
  9. "State Treasurer Chimes In On Oklahoma Red Rock Proposal", CoalControl blog, September 6, 2007.
  10. “OG&E Says Unit Ends Plan to Build Oklahoma Power Plant", Reuters, October 11, 2007.


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