OG&E sets new energy rates for customers in Oklahoma
OG&E, an Oklahoma City-based energy company, reached an agreement with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) staff on rates for customers.
Customers will see an average net rate reduction of approximately $64 million, or $4.44 per month. New rates will take effect on July 1, 2018, pending regulatory approval. This comes after rates were reduced by an average of $13.34 per month in March 2018.
“We’re pleased the various parties led by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission staff recognize through this agreement the real value and strategic importance of the Mustang Energy Center to our customers, communities, and state in the decades ahead,” OG&E spokesman Brian Alford said. “It is important to note the agreement also supports regional energy grid reliability and resiliency while ensuring Oklahoma customers receive the benefit of tax savings that resulted from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.”
The rates adjustments come after OG&E invested $400 million to upgrade the Mustang Energy Complex, which includes seven environmentally compatible natural gas turbines. The Mustang Energy Center upgrade replaces 1950s-era power generating units with natural gas turbines that move electricity to the grid in minutes versus hours in the past.
“The decision to install the modern facilities at our existing Mustang Power Plant site was by far the best economic option for our customers,” Alford said. “At Mustang, we have an experienced power plant workforce and the necessary infrastructure, ensuring the reliable delivery of energy at critical times.”
The new facility will reduce OG&E’s carbon footprint, enhance grid reliability and offer an improved ability to support wind and solar energy.
“In the short time the plant has been operational, its units have been called upon more than 700 times to support regional grid reliability, producing more energy than the old plant did in its last full year of operation,” Alford said.
The company also installed dry scrubbers at its Sooner Power Plant, located near Red Rock, Oklahoma. It also converted two of three coal-fired units to natural gas at its Muskogee plant.
“We’re making great progress with these necessary environmental projects. Both the Sooner and Muskogee projects are on time and under budget,” Alford said. “We’ll be bringing a rate review for these investments to the OCC later this year. Today’s settlement agreement will help mitigate the effects of the cost increases associated with these environmental projects.”
