SWEPCO Reaches Agreement to Buy 800 Megawatts of Wind Power in Oklahoma

Southwestern Electric Power Co. reached an agreement with the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s staff, the Office of Arkansas Attorney General, and Walmart Inc. to acquire 810 megawatts of wind energy from three projects in Oklahoma, according to a Jan. 24 filing. SWEPCO will own 54.5 percent of a 1,485-megawatt portfolio of wind projects, which it proposes to acquire with Public Service of Oklahoma. SWEPO will invest $1.01 billion in the projects, which are expected to advance its long-term strategy of having renewable energy supply more than one-third of the resource mix.

The portfolio consists of the 999-megawatt Traverse Wind, 287-megawatt Maverick Wind, and 199-megawatt Sundance Wind projects. The agreement includes ratepayer protections and guarantees including a cost cap guarantees and federal production tax credit eligibility guarantees. The projects are expected to save an estimated $2 billion over the 30-year expected life of the new facilities.

The acquisition requires approvals from utility regulators in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, as well as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “States that approve the project would have the ability to increase the number of megawatts allocated to them should another state or states reject the proposal,” according to SWEPCO.

SWEPCO and Public Service of Oklahoma are subsidiaries of American Electric Power Company Inc.