April 05--Representatives from environmental groups and workers from a coal plant shared their opinions Monday on how regulators should proceed on a $500 million plan to put scrubbers on Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.'s Sooner generating plant.
The public comments came before an afternoon spent on several prehearing motions. The hearing is expected to resume at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in
Oklahoma City
. Public comments are scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
OG&E is making its third try for scrubber approval at the Sooner plant near
Red Rock
. The utility said it may have to convert the plant to natural gas if the commission doesn't approve the scrubber plan.
OG&E has to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by January 2019 under federal regional haze rules and said the scrubber upgrade is the best option to preserve fuel diversity.
Kim Bartlett, conservation chair for the Oklahoma Sierra Club, said the commission should urge OG&E to "look forward rather than backward" and move toward cleaner energy.
"It appears OG&E made a mistake and they purchased equipment that is not progressive-leaning in nature," Bartlett said. "As our environmental sciences have shown that we need to change the way we're producing things, it seems to me as a ratepayer that OG&E is asking me to pay for their mistake, their bad business decision, and I would prefer not to do that."
But Keith Hodges, speaking on behalf of a group of Sooner coal plant workers in the courtroom, said he hoped the commission would look favorably on the plant, its jobs and contributions to the tax base.
"We're concerned that our jobs are being threatened by potential actions of the commission," Hodges said. "We provide reliable, clean and affordable energy for our customers. Our schools and communities are better off because of OG&E's presence in our area. We're proud of our plant and the work we do."
A small group of scrubber opponents rallied before Monday's hearing. Among the speakers was Rep. Richard Morrissette, an
Oklahoma City
Democrat who plans to run for the
Corporation Commission against incumbent Republican
Dana Murphy.
Morrissette said he didn't see why OG&E would want to keep importing coal from
Wyoming
for its coal plants when the state had other options.
"
Oklahoma
is blessed with many energy resources right here: cleaner burning natural gas and lots of cheaper wind," Morrissette said. "Our state has enormous potential for solar energy development, which can provide clean energy at the most expensive times of the day."
Rev. Jim Stovall, chairman of the environment committee at the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, said solar and wind generation sources are getting cheaper and more efficient.
"Precisely at the moment when the cost of clean energy is dropping,
Oklahoma
wants to go in the exact opposite direction by fixing up coal sources that would cost generations to come," Stovall said. "
$500 million is an absurd amount to invest in a backward-leaning direction."
OG&E spokesman Randy Swanson said more than 100 Sooner plant jobs could be at risk if groups like the Sierra Club get their way. He said the national club has active campaigns against both coal and natural gas.
"The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and Sierra Club bring up an agenda and point of view in
Oklahoma
that isn't always in the best interest of
Oklahoma
customers," Swanson said. "The
Sierra Club is essentially trying to shut down the oil and gas industry in this state. We're talking the economic engine of our state, and they're fighting it the whole way."
Swanson said the Sooner plant is on standby status as low natural gas prices have meant natural gas generation is cheaper right now. But he predicted the coal plant will be running fully by summer when electricity demand is higher.
OG&E already has spent about $130 million on the Sooner scrubber project. It has negotiated a pause in the engineering and construction contracts as it makes its third bid for regulatory approval. If the scrubbers are approved, the utility plans to come back to the commission for cost recovery after the project is complete.
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