American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2023 - 33

ConventionSec tion: The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma
Advocacy Keeps Expanding
To Meet New Challenges
By Del Torkelson
OKLAHOMA CITY-In Greek
mythology, countless warriors fell to the
many-headed hydra because slicing off
one of its serpentine heads caused two to
regenerate in its place. U.S. oil and natural
gas advocates face a similarly herculean
task as threats to their industry only seem
to grow even as they counter one attack
after another.
As such, the Petroleum Alliance of
Oklahoma has a growing to-do list despite
winning one victory after another. Even
amid the scores of public policy challenges
emanating from Washington and Oklahoma
City, Alliance Chairman Blu Hulsey
notes that the group has begun paying
more attention to matters dealing with
public utilities.
" This is an industrywide issue that
reaches much farther than Oklahoma, "
reflects Hulsey, Senior Vice President
of health, safety, environment, government
and regulatory affairs at Continental
Resources in Oklahoma City. " The industry
will have to focus more on advocacy
in the public service commission
(PSC) arena. "
Powerful Purpose
As an example, Hulsey notes that the
Alliance is paying closer attention to
processes with the Southwest Power Pool
regional electric authority that affect
costs and service reliability, all the while
urging the SWPP not to neglect cleanburning
natural gas as a critical way to
meet those goals.
" We are watching utility issues very
closely because our industry must be more
aggressive in advocating for natural gas
power production, " he maintains. " The
onslaught of regulatory issues comes at
us not only through legislation or regulations,
but also through those PSCs and
mandates from the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission. We will push to ensure
citizens have reliable, clean power, especially
in the states with natural gas production.
Because of its importance, we
have taken a big step in that advocacy. "
" Fewer and fewer of Oklahoma's new
legislators have any experience with the
industry, and they do not understand its
economic impact or the regulatory
environment in which we work. "
-Blu Hulsey
Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma
Chairman
The power markets and the operations
of regional power authorities are very
complex, he observes, and the industry
has a long history of tangential involvement
in those workings. " However, we
are going to be more involved in all aspects
of those decisions going forward
and really focusing on the minutia, "
Hulsey emphasizes. " We have to back
consumer groups and advocate for natural
gas power production. "
Alliance President Brook Simmons
says that increased focus on utilities is
an intentional response to some areas'
attempts to squelch natural gas consumption
by barring new infrastructure and
municipal hookups. The outreach has already
paid off, Simmons reports, citing
Oklahoma lawmakers' 2022 decision to
prohibit the state's localities from discriminating
against natural gas power
generation, as well as 2020 legislation to
prevent cities from banning natural gas
hookups for new construction.
" It is very purposeful, " he affirms. " Oklahoma
is trying to provide an example of
how we can create better resiliency-and
benefit the oil and gas industry-by pushing
back against some of these problematic
and dangerous ideas from the coasts. "
Legislative Efforts
In the 2023 Oklahoma Legislature,
Simmons says some of The Alliance's advocacy
has involved helping utilities understand
likely consequences of proposals
that may hurt Oklahoma ratepayers and
the oil and natural gas industry. " That has
taken up considerable focus during this
legislative session, not only of the state
capital, but also at the Oklahoma Corporation
Commission, " he relates. " The proliferation
of wind and solar generation
has come at the detriment of grid reliability
and gas-fired power generation. "
In one such example, he notes, the
Alliance pushed back against SB 1103,
which would mandate that regulators
allow electrical utilities to set rates using
a formula rather than requiring utilities
to apply for rate increases based primarily
on the investments they need to make to
meet users' needs. The Alliance warned
that the bill could enable power providers
to increase rates with less public scrutiny
and transparency.
In a late March email to members, the
Alliance noted that SB 1103 was not
heard from the Senate floor before the
deadline by which bills had to be approved
and sent to the opposite chamber for consideration.
In that communique, the Alliance
quotes remarks from the bill's author,
Oklahoma Senate President Pro
Tempore Greg Treat, on why the legislation
did not advance: " Not getting an agreement
with The Petroleum Alliance and the utilities
led to its ultimate demise. "
Speaking in mid-April, Simmons acknowledged
that the Alliance still was on
guard against the possibility that a similar
measure could surface in other legislation.
MAY 2023 33
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