Oklahoma Corporation Commission approves OG&E power plant acquisitions

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) approved on Monday a preapproval application from OG&E, a subsidiary of OGE Energy Corp., to acquire the AES Shady Point plant near Poteau, Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Cogeneration LLC facility in Oklahoma City.

The company filed the preapproval request in December 2018 and is expected to pay approximately $53 million for the two plants, which have both served OG&E customers for several decades under federally mandated power purchase agreements.

Shady Point has a generation capacity of 360MW and Oklahoma Cogeneration has a capacity of 146MW.

“These acquisitions create a win-win on multiple fronts,” OG&E spokesman Brian Alford said. “Our customers will save tens of millions of dollars each year by eliminating costly, federally mandated agreements. The Shady Point acquisition will help maintain grid stability as growth continues in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. It also ensures many jobs will be preserved in an economically challenged region. The Oklahoma Cogen acquisition will help ensure the facility’s natural-gas-fired capacity will continue to support reliability and resiliency in the ever-growing Oklahoma City-metro area. And, we’ll see a further reduction in power plant air emissions as a result of the acquisitions.”

Alford added that OG&E power plant air emissions are significantly lower from 2005 levels. Sulfur dioxide emissions are lower by approximately 90 percent, nitrogen oxide emissions are lower by approximately 75 percent and carbon dioxide are lower by approximately 40 percent. The company anticipates reducing CO2 emissions to 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

“With our demonstrated emissions reductions and rates that are 31 percent below the national average, our performance is industry-leading,” Alford said. “As we integrate Shady Point into our fleet, we will use our expertise to enhance the operation of this facility to further reduce emissions.”