Portland, Maine (Platts)--7Feb2008

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is examining whether it has authority
to implement a mandatory renewable portfolio standard, and is looking into
other issues related to expanding the role of wind power and other renewable
energy sources in the state, Commissioner Jim Roth said Thursday.

Roth said in an interview that OCC staff is expected to present its
findings to the three-member commission within the next two weeks or so. If
staff determines the OCC has the authority to implement an RPS, the commission
then may issue a notice of proposed rulemaking. He noted that, under Oklahoma
law, the OCC must notify the state legislature by April 1 of any new rules it
would like to implement each year.

Roth acknowledged that while the state's major utilities--Public Service
Co. of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gas & Electric--each have been expanding their
wind-power portfolios and planning to expand them further, they would prefer
not to have a mandatory RPS.

He said, however, that we would tend to support one, adding he personally
doesn't "see anything wrong with" setting an ambitious goal for renewable
energy, given the state's vast wind-power potential.

In addition to looking into its RPS authority, OCC's staff is exploring
related matters, including how to determine if the higher costs of renewable
power are justified how to ensure that new transmission capacity needed to
deliver wind power is built.