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An administrative law judge recommended Tuesday that two utility companies be allowed to build a 950-MW coal-fired plant in northern Okla.
Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co., Public Service Company of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority are seeking to build the Red Rock plant near OG&E's Sooner Power Plant. Estimated cost is $1.8 billion.
In her recommendations to the three-member Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Judge Maribeth D. Snapp found that while the coal-fired plant would be more expensive to construct than a plant using natural gas, it would be paid off in about 4.2 years because of fuel savings. She based her calculations on natural gas selling at $7 per Mcf (1,000 cubic feet of gas.)
The plant is needed to meet the needs of the company to supply its customers by the year 2012, according to supporters.
Opponents believe the new technology being used for the plant is not proven, but Snapp said in her report that it will lower operating costs and the amount of emissions.
She said it will eventually start saving ratepayers money, compared with a facility using natural gas.
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