By -- Source, the Daily Oklahoman
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Two of Oklahoma's leading providers of electricity said Wednesday they have no plans to ask for a rate increase to cover costs related to damage done by the recent ice storm. That ran counter to OGE Energy's Tuesday announcement that it likely will seek a rate increase from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for $100 million-plus in ice storm damage costs. OGE Energy is the parent company of Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co., the state's largest electric utility. American Electric Power-PSO, which serves about 500,000 customers statewide, likely will have at least "several million" in outlays related to the Jan. 30 storm, spokesman Ed Bettinger said. "I'm guessing it'll be a couple of weeks or more before we have a ballpark figure established on the cost," he said. "At this point we do not have plans to ask for any cost recovery on this, but that could change." He said the Christmas 2000 ice storm cost PSO $40 million in service areas in Oklahoma and nearby states. The company has not sought any recovery on that cost, he said. "You can't really budget for disasters," he said. "It goes into operating expenses, it takes a bite out of company profits and is not recovered." At the Corporation Commission, spokesman Matt Skinner said no notice has been received from OG&E about the $100 million-plus rate-relief issue. However, he said, the commission is working on a prior OG&E request for a $22 million rate hike, which the utility has said will go mainly for improved security in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. At the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives, executive director Harold Hale said about 10 utilities out of his group of 65 small city and rural co-ops have been hit hard. He estimated the total repair cost to be $60 million to $70 million. "I don't guess we've ever had anything like this," he said. Some 17,000 to 18,000 co-op poles are down, Hale said, with north central and western Oklahoma worst hit. Cimarron Electric Cooperative in Kingfisher has been hit hardest, he said. However, unlike investor-owned utilities, the co-ops can turn to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for relief. The cooperatives stand to be reimbursed for 75 percent of the costs that FEMA approves. The co-op association has turned to FEMA for help in past disaster situations, he said. "They've been a lifesaver," he said. The co-op utility group also may be able to get some state funds, he added, since Gov. Keating has declared some counties disaster areas. One problem that all utilities are facing, Hale said, is how to dispose of the 28,000 or so utility poles that have snapped under the unprecedented ice burden. The poles are treated with a variety of chemicals, including arsenic, and cannot be burned under environmental rules. Hale said the co-op association is working with the state Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency on disposal options. Hale said that The Williams Cos. of Tulsa gave his group needed aid in the form of large electric generators. Such generators -- called distributed generation -- are a Williams business segment. Two Williams generators are at work for Cimarron, he said. In addition, ONEOK has been helping out by selling electricity from one of its plants to co-ops at reasonable rates. Another report, from Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma, says Williams recently delivered a 6,000-kilowatt generator to Newkirk, enough to serve the entire town of 2,250. "People just step up and do the right thing when you're in a crisis," Hale said.
-- Source, the Daily Oklahoman
