OGE Energy : Direct Testimony of Maria Scheller
OGE
Published on 05/19/2025 at 16:43
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF )
OKLAHOMA GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY ) Case No. PUD2025-000038 FOR COMMISSION PREAPPROVAL OF NEW )
GENERATION CAPACITY PURSUANT TO ) 17 O.S. § 286(C) AND RIDER COST RECOVERY )
Direct Testimony of
Maria F. Scheller on behalf of
Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company
May 19, 2025
I. INTRODUCTION 3
A. My name is Maria F. Scheller. I am a Vice President of ICF. My business address is 1902
Reston Metro Plaza, Reston, Virginia 20190. 4
A. I am testifying on behalf of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company ("OG&E" or "the
Company").
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A. ICF is a publicly traded professional services company with approximately 9,000
employees, more than 2,000 of whom are climate, energy, and environment experts. Our
energy advisory practice area assists clients in strategy and policy analysis, procurement,
program and project evaluation, and other services. Our energy practice employs experts
across a broad range of energy areas including fuels and power sectors. Our clients include
utilities, government agencies, independent power producers, state agencies, federal
agencies (e.g., U.S. Department of Energy), law firms, financial investors such as private
equity firms, consumers, industry associations (e.g., Edison Electric Institute),
environmental interest groups, and Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent
System Operators.
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A. I have been employed by ICF since 1994 and have more than 30 years of experience in
energy sector consulting focused on North American power markets. I received a Bachelor
of Science in Economics from the Pennsylvania State University and completed all work
except thesis toward a Master of Economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University.
In my role at ICF, I have extensive experience in wholesale electric power markets,
integrated resource planning, resiliency planning, grid reliability and transmission
planning, procurement, climate and sustainability planning, and investment analysis. I
personally have led, managed, or worked on procurement solicitations of interest for
multiple transactions including generation resource solicitations, transmission
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solicitations, and non-transmission/wires alternative solicitations. My CV is attached as
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exhibit MFS-1.
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5
Q.
HAVE YOU PREVIOUSLY TESTIFIED ON MATTERS RELATED TO
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GENERATION PROCUREMENT?
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A.
Yes. I have testified on generation procurement in Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts,
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Oklahoma, and Virginia. In addition, I have testified on other matters in the power sector
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in California, Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Texas.
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Q.
HAVE YOU PREVIOUSLY TESTIFIED IN THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA?
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A.
Yes. I provided expert testimony in Case No. PUD 2023-000038 on behalf of OG&E. In
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that testimony, I described ICF's role in supporting OG&E 2022 Request for Proposals
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("RFP") for Flexible Resources.
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Q.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR TESTIMONY?
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A.
The purpose of my testimony is to describe ICF's role in supporting OG&E with the
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structure, design, administration, and review of OG&E's All Source RFP issued in 2024 to
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meet the Company's capacity needs.
In summary, ICF assisted OG&E with the design of the RFP, supported OG&E's
administration of the RFP, assisted in drafting the RFP requirements and the evaluative
criteria used for scoring bidders, and provided an independent review of certain aspects of
the RFP responses. 24
A. I conclude that OG&E acted fairly in administering the All Source RFP. OG&E's
evaluations of resources were conducted in a fair manner, treating all bidder responses
consistently for both threshold and qualitative evaluations. The solicitation led to a robust
and fair market response, aligned with the activities of developers in the power sector,
providing OG&E with strong opportunities to assemble a portfolio of resources to meet its
capacity needs.
A. As described in Company witness Kelly Riley's testimony and the 2024 OG&E Integrated
Resource Plan ("IRP"), the Company has identified a need for additional capacity resources
to support its expected load growth.
This need is further supported by overall market conditions in the electric sector.
For example, the Southwest Power Pool ("SPP") has conducted a thorough analysis of
future capacity requirements. According to the SPP's 2024 Resource Adequacy Report1,
there is a projected capacity deficit of 5,950 megawatts ("MW") by the summer of 2029.
This deficit arises from a combination of factors, including a 10% increase in forecasted
net peak demand and a 3% reduction in total capacity. To address this shortfall, the SPP
mandates that each Load Responsible Entity ("LRE"), including OG&E, maintain
sufficient capacity to meet its Resource Adequacy Requirement for upcoming seasons.
Similarly, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation ("NERC") has
highlighted the urgent need for additional generation resources. In its 2024 Long-Term
Reliability Assessment,2NERC identifies critical reliability challenges, including the need
to accommodate growing energy demand and manage the retirement of aging generators.
In the assessment, NERC identifies the SPP's capacity and energy risk level as "Elevated"
with potential energy shortfalls during peak summer and winter conditions. NERC
emphasizes the importance of resource and transmission development to ensure the
reliability of the power grid over the next decade.
Consistent with OG&E's IRP, both the SPP and NERC have identified significant
needs for additional capacity resources to maintain grid reliability and meet future energy
demands. The projected capacity deficits and the challenges associated with potential
generator retirements underscore the urgency of developing new generation resources. The
continued tightening of the available capacity margins as compared to the demand
1Available at
/https://www.spp.org/documents/71804/2024%20spp%20june%20resource%20adequacy%20report.pdf.
2 Available at https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_Long%20Term%20Reliability% 20Assessment_2024.pdf.
Disclaimer
OGE Energy Corporation published this content on May 19, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 19, 2025 at 20:42 UTC.