Jul. 10--The first day of hearings Monday on a proposed $1.8 billion coal-fired power plant featured debate over competitive bidding practices, contract negotiations and the merits of coal versus natural gas and renewable forms of energy.

In the end, much of the discussion could be irrelevant. The hearings before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission focus on the coal power plant Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., Public Service Co. of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority want to build at an existing OG&E coal plant near Red Rock. Under a new Oklahoma law, the state's two largest electric utilities have asked the Corporation Commission to approve their construction plan before the power plant is built. It is still unclear how much authority the commission has and how much it will choose to yield in the case. "The word 'preapproval' doesn't even appear in the statute," Commissioner Bob Anthony said Monday during a line of questions directed at Stuart Solomon, PSO's president.

"I think the focus of the commission is to determine whether there is a need for th power plant." Anthony made it clear he does not believe the commission has the authority to tell the utilities what fuel they should use in their power plants. "If somebody thinks the commission ought to decide whether the next plant for PSO should be nuclear, coal, gas or wind, I wish they'd say so," Anthony said. "I don't find that's our legal responsibility." A strict interpretation of the new state law and of PSO's application before the commission says the commission is charged with determining only whether there is a need for the utilities to build the proposed plant, Anthony said.

The commissioner recogn zed, however, that other factors may be involved in determining whether the need is proper. The state's newest commissioner, Jim Roth, took a more holistic approach toward the issues in the case, including contract disputes and competitive bidding practices. "All those issues are appropriate for the commission to investigate," Roth said. "Ultimately, you have to find a balance between the utilities' application and our duty to safeguard the consumers. I think it goes beyond whether the utility claims they n ed it and we simply say 'yes' or 'no.'"