Vision TULSA - The Tulsa City Council

Public Service Company of OklahomaPowering Tulsa for Nearly 100 Years.Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO)is an investor-owned utility powering Tulsa,the Tulsa metro area, and a significant portionof Oklahoma for 99 years. The company isdedicated to providing safe, reliable electricityin sustainable ways and to working for a strongerOklahoma through contributions to educationand economic development.Incorporated in May 1913, PSO initially served3,600 customers (about half in Tulsa). It wasa humble beginning. For many years, PSO’sside business of producing and delivering iceovershadowed that of producing and deliveringelectricity.Electric generators of the era were small and couldoperate only a few hours a day. In September1913, PSO arranged to use a Santa Fe Railroadlocomotive to boost steam production for thegenerators at its old Cheyenne Street power plantin downtown Tulsa.PSO today provides electric service to approximately532,000 customers in 232 communities across30,000 square miles of eastern and southwesternOklahoma. About 285,000 customers are in theTulsa metro area. Statewide, PSO employs morethan 1,500 people.To meet customers’ energy supply needs, thecompany owns and operates 3,391 megawatts(MW) of natural gas-fired generation, and 1,031MW of coal-fired generation.PSO also has 690 MW of wind energy underlong-term contracts, making it the state’s leaderin promoting use of clean wind power andsupporting the state’s wind industry.To meet the interest of customers who wishto have more of their energy supplied by wind,PSO introduced WindChoice in 2011. WindChoiceis a voluntary program that allows residential andcommercial customers to purchase Oklahomageneratedwind power as all or a portion ofthe electricity they buy from PSO. WindChoiceelectricity is sold in 100 kilowatt-hour blocks;customers can purchase between one block permonth up to 100 percent of their monthly electricity.PSO WindChoice is the first program in Oklahomato receive “Green-e Energy ® ” certification fromthe Center for Resource Solutions, the nation’sleading independent certification and verificationprogram for renewable energy. Green-e Energycertification assures customers that WindChoicePSO’s Tulsa Power Station has been a landmark on the west bank of the Arkansas River since 1919. This plant has threenatural-gas-fueled generating units with a combined output of 378 megawatts.meets strict environmental and consumer protectionstandards.A major focus for PSO today and in the future is itscomprehensive gridSMART ® energy efficiency anddemand-response plan to help all customers controltheir energy usage and electric bills. Comprising17 program offerings, gridSMART provides how-toinformation and a wide range of incentives toencourage customers to improve the energyefficiency of existing facilities and incorporateenergy-efficient technologies in new construction—from building and buying energy-efficient homesto improving large industrial motors, lighting,or heating/cooling equipment.PSO estimates these programs will produceenergy savings of 170 million kilowatt-hoursover the next three years, which is equivalentto the amount of power more than 14,000 averagehomes would use during the sametime period.As part of gridSMART, PSO is also conductinga pilot program with Smart Meters and an advancedautomated distribution system involving all of its13,000 customers in the Tulsa metro communityof Owasso.Throughout its service area, PSO is a committedpartner in community involvement. Employeesinvest thousands of volunteer hours annuallyat schools, community events, civic projects,and nonprofit agencies. PSO provides financialsupport to hundreds of organizations that contributeto community well-being and vitality, includingearly childhood education, secondary and highereducation, the United Way, and arts and culture.Since 2004, PSO and the AEP Foundation(charitable foundation of PSO’s parent company,American Electric Power) have donated morethan $700,000 to Smart Start Oklahoma for earlychildhood literacy programs. The AEP Foundationalso has provided funding to key quality of lifeprojects in the Tulsa metro area, such as theArts and Humanities Council of Tulsa’s HardestyArts Center and ReGreen Tulsa.54 VISION TULSA 2012 | t u l s a c o u n c i l . o r g