Agreement on North Central Energy Facilities in Oklahoma brings PSO wind plan closer to fruition

An agreement was officially settled this week between the Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), Oklahoma government offices, customer groups, and other parties regarding a plan to add 675 megawatts of wind energy via three new wind energy facilities.

“This settlement agreement puts PSO a step closer to adding more low-cost Oklahoma wind energy to its portfolio,” PSO President and COO Peggy Simmons said. “We appreciate the collaboration among the parties to reach this settlement.”

At the heart of the arrangement were the North Central Energy Facilities: a set of three new wind energy facilities PSO seeks joint ownership in, together with its sister company, Southwestern Electric Power Company. PSO wants a 45.5 percent ownership share in the 1,485 MW facilities, representing a $908 million investment. According to the company, it would also save its customers more than $1 billion throughout the facilities’ operations.

The wind farms amount to a nearly $2 billion investment in Oklahoma, with a reach spread across seven counties. Current plans put the facilities’ operational dates in 2020 and 2021.

That, however, depends on approval from the regulators at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), with which the settlement agreement was filed. The Public Utility Division Staff of the OCC was one of the parties with which PSO settled this week.