An opponent of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.’s acquisition of a 360-megawatt coal-fired plant near Poteau appealed an order authorizing preapproval of the deal issued by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to Oklahoma’s Supreme Court.

The order, approved by commissioners May 13, authorized preapproval for the utility to spend and then recover about $27 million to acquire the plant, which it calls the River Valley Power Plant, from AES Shady Point. The same order also gave the utility preapproval to spend and recover another $26 million to acquire a 146-megawatt natural gas-fired, combined cycle plant in west Oklahoma City.

The appellant, Oklahoma Energy Results, argued against the deal in a hearing before the commission, taking issue with the competitive bidding process the utility used to select the two plants for acquisition.

An attorney for the firm, which represents an independent power producer in Oklahoma, argued the utility should have required interested bidders to include long-term fuel and maintenance costs for their facilities as part of submissions for consideration, noting one of its witnesses had told an administrative law judge considering the case that it would cost the utility more than $500 million to own and operate both selected facilities the remainder of their useful lives.