OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Oklahoma Gas
and Electric, a subsidiary of Oklahoma
City-based OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE), announced today
that it has asked the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to review the
company's request to recover its approximately $534 million investment in the Sooner Power Plant
(Sooner) and its approximately $75
million investment in the Muskogee Power Plant (Muskogee). To comply with the federal Regional
Haze Rule, the company has installed emissions-reducing scrubbers
on the two coal-fired units at Sooner and is converting two units
from coal to natural gas at Muskogee.
"The first Sooner scrubber is online and the second is scheduled
to go into service in January 2019,"
said OG&E spokesman Brian
Alford. "It's important to note that this project is on
schedule and approximately $80
million under budget. Similarly, the Muskogee conversion is scheduled to go online
in January 2019, also on time and
under budget."
The company is seeking a rate increase of $77.6 million per year, or 4.4 percent, to
recover its investment. This equates to an increase of
approximately $7.60 per month for the
average residential customer.
"While taking these actions at Sooner and Muskogee, we have maintained customer rates
that are among the lowest in the country, at 31% below the national
average, and within one-half of a percent of our 2014 rates, when
these projects began," said Alford. "Due in large part to the
actions we've taken at these facilities, overall plant emissions
are expected to be significantly lower from 2005 levels. Beginning
in 2019, sulfur dioxide emissions are expected to be lower by
nearly 90 percent, nitrogen oxide to be lower by nearly 75 percent
and carbon dioxide to be lower by approximately 40 percent."
Alford added that in addition to recovering the Sooner and
Muskogee investments, the
company's filing also seeks to align its return on equity (ROE)
more closely to the industry average for utilities like OG&E,
and to align its depreciation rates to more realistically reflect
actual asset lifespans.
"OG&E consistently ranks well above the national average in
terms of environmental stewardship, safety, customer satisfaction
and low customer rates," said Alford. "Higher performing companies
typically have ROEs aligned with, or above, the industry
average."
About OG&E
Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of OGE Energy
Corp. (NYSE: OGE), is Oklahoma's
largest electric utility. For more than a century, we have provided
customers in Oklahoma and western
Arkansas the safe, reliable
electricity needed to power their businesses and homes at rates
below the national average. Our employees are committed to
generating and delivering electricity, protecting the environment
and providing excellent service to our 847,000 customers. OG&E
has 6,304 MW of electric generation capacity fueled by low-sulfur
coal, natural gas, wind and solar. OG&E employees live, work
and volunteer in the communities we serve. For more information
about OG&E, visit us on the Internet at
http://www.oge.com or follow us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/ogepower and Twitter: @OGandE. Click here to
view the OG&E corporate stewardship report.
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SOURCE OGE Energy Corp.