PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Drake N. Rice, OMPA Director of Member Services, 405/359-2500
OMPA To Hold Groundbreaking of Charles D. Lamb Energy Center on February 13th
On Thursday, February 13th at 2 pm, the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of the 103-megawatt natural gas power plant, the Charles D. Lamb Energy Center. The site is located in Kay County, seven miles north of Ponca City and six miles east of Blackwell on State Highway 11. Both Ponca City and Blackwell are OMPA member cities. The OMPA Board of Directors, OMPA staff, contractors, and invited guests will attend the ceremony.
Construction of the plant will begin in February 2014, with an estimated completion date of April 2015. This is OMPA’s first greenfield power plant project in which OMPA is not a partner, but the sole owner and operator. The plant will utilize approximately 45 acres with the remaining acres leased for farming. The size of the site allows OMPA to install additional units, if needed, in the future. The site was chosen due to the location of an existing Southern Star Gas natural gas pipeline and a recently built OG&E 345,000-volt transmission line. The gas line allows for fuel supply to reach the plant, while the high voltage transmission line will allow the power to immediately be delivered into the state-wide transmission grid. Water for the plant will be supplied by the Ponca City Utility Authority. The plant will be operated by the OMPA Power Production Department in Ponca City.
TIC (The Industrial Company) was chosen as the general contractor for the project. Siemens Energy Inc. was awarded the contract to provide the SGT6-2000E simple-cycle combustion turbine-generator for the plant. The turbine, which is fired with natural gas, will have an installed capacity of 103 megawatts, The plant will be used primarily for peaking power. Peaking power is power that is produced due to the high demand for electricity during the warm summer months. The plant will be a quick-start plant and will have very little noise, due to the sound minimizing barrier around the turbine. Sargent & Lundy is the project engineer for the plant.
The OMPA Board of Directors voted to name the facility the Charles D. Lamb Energy Center, after their Board Chairman. Since 2001, Lamb has served as OMPA Board Chairman and is the longest tenured elected official to serve on the board. He is serving as the fifth OMPA Board Chairman and has served longer than anyone else in that position. Lamb also is the Mayor for the City of Edmond, Before being appointed Mayor in 2011, he served on the Edmond City Council for 15 years.
The OMPA Board will hold its February meeting at 10 am at the Marland Mansion, 901 Monument Road, in Ponca City prior to the groundbreaking ceremony. In addition to Charles D. Lamb, those serving on the OMPA Board are A.L. “Buddy” Veltema from Walters, Vice Chairman (Chairman Emeritus); John Ramey, Okeene City Manager, Treasurer; Robert Johnston, Frederick City Manager, Secretary; Dale Bunn, Purcell City Manager; Jim Frieda, Duncan City Manager; Elizabeth Gray, Altus City Manager; Homer Nicholson, Ponca City Mayor; Mary Rupp, Perry City Manager; Mark Skiles, Blackwell City Manager; Leslie Swinerton, Geary Mayor; and James C. Joseph, State Bond Advisor, Ex-Officio Member. David W. Osburn serves as OMPA’s General Manager.
The Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) is a wholesale power company owned by 39 municipal electric utilities. OMPA provides economies of scale in power generation and related services to support community-owned electric utilities. The members of OMPA serve approximately two-hundred and fifty-thousand Oklahomans.
#
