OGE Energy expects to add at least 100 MW of solar yearly

Load growth in OGE Energy Corp.'s service territory in Oklahoma and western Arkansas is growing at a rate greater than what the company saw just a few months ago, executives said Nov. 4 during their third-quarter earnings call.

By the end of the year, OGE's regulated utility, Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., will have added 200 MW of new connections, company Chairman, President and CEO Sean Trauschke said. During the company's second-quarter call in early August, executives had predicted the addition of 75 MW of load this year.

"With the first nine months of the year now behind us, we expect 2021 weather-normalized load to be approximately 2.2% above 2020 levels and also expect this level of load growth to continue into 2022," Trauschke said, noting the company's historical annual load growth rate is around 1%.

During the second-quarter call, OGE Energy released a draft of its integrated resource plan, which calls for the retirement of 850 MW of natural gas-fired capacity over the next six years. Final plans have since been filed in Oklahoma and Arkansas, officials said.

Replacement capacity will be a mix of solar and hydrogen-capable, combined-cycle resources, Trauschke said, adding that OGE Energy plans to add 100 MW to 150 MW of solar resources each year for the next several years.

The company's current solar holdings are small, about 22 MW, with another 10 MW under construction. Trauschke said two more solar farms are being planned.

OGE Energy's five-year capital plan through 2025 includes $95 million for solar generation, though it does not include anything that might arise from the resource plan. The resource plan favors the addition of 560 MW of solar and 952 MW of combustion turbine resources by 2031.

The bulk of the $4.2 billion capital plan concentrates investment in the distribution system and grid advancements in Oklahoma.

OGE Energy reported third-quarter net income of $252 million, or $1.26 per share, compared to $177 million, or 89 cents per share in the third quarter of 2020. The company narrowed its full-year earnings per share guidance to $1.79-$1.83, from a previously announced range of $1.76-$1.86.