TULSA, Okla. September 10, 2007 -- Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners Monday issued an oral order denying PSO´s application for approval of the $1.8 billion Red Rock coal-fired power plant project. PSO had proposed to build the plant with Oklahoma Gas & Electric and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority. The vote to deny the application was 2-1.
"Obviously we are very disappointed in the Commissioner´s order today," said PSO President Stuart Solomon. “While we believe that Red Rock would have been beneficial for our customers, the Commissioners have made a determination and we will certainly abide by their decision.”
“We still need additional power supplies to support our customers’ needs, so we will quickly review our options and make another proposal to the Commission," Solomon said.
“I appreciate the close working relationship we’ve had with our Red Rock partners, Oklahoma Gas & Electric and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority,” he added.
PSO expects a final order by next week.
PSO, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), is an electric utility company serving approximately 520,000 customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma. Based in Tulsa, PSO has more than 4,000 megawatts of generating capacity, and is the largest provider of wind energy in the state. News releases and other information about PSO can be found on the World Wide Web at PSOklahoma.com.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Andrea Chancellor
Corporate Communications
918/599-2052