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Commitments and Contingencies | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2018
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 13 and 14 to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company's 2017 Form 10-K appropriately represent, in all material respects, the current status of the Company's material commitments and contingent liabilities. Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act of 1978 As previously disclosed in the Company's 2017 Form 10-K, OG&E has a QF contract with AES whereby OG&E purchases 100 percent of the electricity generated from AES's 320 MW facility. The QF contract expires on January 15, 2023; however, OG&E had the option beginning in July 2017 to provide notice to AES to terminate the contract in January 2018. On July 17, 2017, OG&E and AES amended the agreement to allow OG&E the option, through July 17, 2018, to provide AES a termination notice that would terminate the agreement on January 15, 2019. On July 17, 2018, OG&E and AES extended the option to provide notice, and on August 24, 2018, OG&E notified AES that OG&E was exercising its option to terminate the contract, effective January 15, 2019. OG&E has issued a request for proposals to fill the capacity need created by the upcoming termination of this QF contract, as further discussed in Note 14. Environmental Laws and Regulations The activities of OG&E are subject to numerous stringent and complex federal, state and local laws and regulations governing environmental protection. These laws and regulations can change, restrict or otherwise impact OG&E's business activities in many ways, including the handling or disposal of waste material, future construction activities to avoid or mitigate harm to threatened or endangered species and requiring the installation and operation of emissions pollution control equipment. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in the assessment of administrative, civil and criminal penalties, the imposition of remedial requirements and the issuance of orders enjoining future operations. Management believes that all of its operations are in substantial compliance with current federal, state and local environmental standards. Environmental regulation can increase the cost of planning, design, initial installation and operation of OG&E's facilities. OG&E is managing several potentially material uncertainties about the scope and timing for the acquisition, installation and operation of additional pollution control equipment and compliance costs for a variety of the EPA rules that are being challenged in court. OG&E is unable to predict the financial impact of these matters with certainty at this time. Management continues to evaluate its compliance with existing and proposed environmental legislation and regulations and implement appropriate environmental programs in a competitive market. Air Quality Control System On September 10, 2014, OG&E executed a contract for the design, engineering and fabrication of two circulating Dry Scrubber systems to be installed at Sooner Units 1 and 2. OG&E entered into an agreement on February 9, 2015 to install the Dry Scrubber systems. The Dry Scrubber system on Sooner Unit 1 completed certain emission testing in October 2018 and was placed into service. The Dry Scrubber system on Sooner Unit 2 is expected to be completed in late 2018 to early 2019. More detail regarding the ECP can be found in Note 14 under "Pending Regulatory Matters." 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 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, 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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- Definition The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2127136 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 440 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2144648 + Details
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- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
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