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Commitments and Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2014
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items] |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] | Commitments and Contingencies Except as set forth below, in Note 14 and under "Environmental Laws and Regulations" in Item 2 of Part I and in Item 1 of Part II of this Form 10-Q, the circumstances set forth in Notes 16 and 17 to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company's 2013 Form 10-K appropriately represent, in all material respects, the current status of the Company's material commitments and contingent liabilities. OG&E Minimum Fuel Purchase Commitments OG&E has coal contracts for purchases through December 2016. Also, as previously reported, OG&E had entered into multiple-month term natural gas contracts for 31.5 percent of its 2014 annual forecasted natural gas requirements. In March 2014, through a request for proposal, OG&E entered into various multiple-month term natural gas contracts for 42.6 percent of its remaining forecasted 2014 natural gas requirements. Additional gas supplies to fulfill OG&E's remaining 2014 natural gas requirements will be acquired through additional requests for proposal in mid-2014, along with monthly and daily purchases, all of which are expected to be made at market prices. Enable Gas Transportation and Storage Agreement OG&E contracts with Enable for gas transportation and storage services. The stated term of this contract expired April 30, 2009, but remained in effect from year-to-year thereafter. On January 31, 2014, in anticipation of entering into a new, five-year contract, OG&E provided written notice of termination of the contract, effective April 30, 2014. On March 17, 2014, OG&E entered into a new contract effective May 1, 2014 and expiring April 30, 2019. Environmental Laws and Regulations Federal Clean Air Act New Source Review Litigation As previously reported, in July 2008, OG&E received a request for information from the EPA regarding Federal Clean Air Act compliance at OG&E's Muskogee and Sooner generating plants. In recent years, the EPA has issued similar requests to numerous other electric utilities seeking to determine whether various maintenance, repair and replacement projects should have required permits under the Federal Clean Air Act's new source review process. In January 2012, OG&E received a supplemental request for an update of the previously provided information and for some additional information not previously requested. On May 1, 2012, OG&E responded to the EPA's supplemental request for information. On April 26, 2011, the EPA issued a notice of violation alleging that 13 projects occurred at OG&E's Muskogee and Sooner generating plants between 1993 and 2006 without the required new source review permits. The notice of violation also alleges that OG&E's visible emissions at its Muskogee and Sooner generating plants are not in accordance with applicable new source performance standards. In March 2013, the DOJ informed OG&E that it was prepared to initiate enforcement litigation concerning the matters identified in the notice of violation. OG&E subsequently met with EPA and DOJ representatives regarding the notice of violation and proposals for resolving the matter without litigation. On July 8, 2013, the United States, at the request of the EPA, filed a complaint for declaratory relief against OG&E in United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (Case No. CIV-13-690-D) alleging that OG&E did not follow the Federal Clean Air Act procedures for projecting emission increases attributable to eight projects that occurred between 2003 and 2006. This complaint seeks to have OG&E submit a new assessment of whether the projects were likely to result in a significant emissions increase. The Sierra Club has intervened in this proceeding and has asserted claims for declaratory relief that are similar to those requested by the United States. OG&E expects to vigorously defend against these claims, but OG&E cannot predict the outcome of such litigation. On August 12, 2013, the Sierra Club filed a complaint against OG&E in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma (Case No. 13-CV-00356) alleging that OG&E modifications made at Unit 6 of the Muskogee generating plant in 2008 were made without obtaining a prevention of significant deterioration permit and that the plant has exceeded emissions limits for opacity and particulate matter. The Sierra Club seeks a permanent injunction preventing OG&E from operating the Muskogee generating plant. On March 4, 2014, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma dismissed the prevention of significant deterioration permit claim because it was filed after the statute of limitations expired, but the court allowed the opacity and particulate matter claims to proceed. At this time, OG&E continues to believe that it has acted in compliance with the Federal Clean Air Act. If OG&E does not prevail in these proceedings and if a new assessment of the projects were to conclude that they caused a significant emissions increase, the EPA and the Sierra Club could seek to require OG&E to install additional pollution control equipment, including scrubbers, baghouses and selective catalytic reduction systems with capital costs in excess of $1.0 billion and pay fines and significant penalties as a result of the allegations in the notice of violation. Section 113 of the Federal Clean Air Act (along with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1996) provides for civil penalties as much as $37,500 per day for each violation. The cost of any required pollution control equipment could also be significant. OG&E cannot predict at this time whether it will be legally required to incur any of these costs. Other In the normal course of business, the Company is confronted with issues or events that may result in a contingent liability. These generally relate to lawsuits or claims made by third parties, including governmental agencies. When appropriate, management consults with legal counsel and other appropriate experts to assess the claim. If, in management's opinion, the Company has incurred a probable loss as set forth by GAAP, an estimate is made of the loss and the appropriate accounting entries are reflected in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. At the present time, based on currently available information, except as otherwise stated above, in Note 13 below, under "Environmental Laws and Regulations" in Item 2 of Part 1 and in Item 1 of Part II of this Form 10-Q, in Notes 15 and 16 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and in Item 3 of Part I of the Company's 2013 Form 10-K, the Company believes that any reasonably possible losses in excess of accrued amounts arising out of pending or threatened lawsuits or claims would not be quantitatively material to its financial statements and would not have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

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