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May 20, 2009

NEW: OG&E wins battle with landowners





OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Two judges in northwestern Oklahoma have ruled for Oklahoma Gas and Electric in its attempts to gain private property through condemnation so it can build a high-voltage oltage transmission line.

OG&E; wants to build a 112-mile-long, 345-kilovolt transmission line to carry electricity from wind farms near Woodward to Oklahoma City.

Landowners argued OG&E; would use the lines for private purposes because it wanted to sell much of the electricity out of state.

But judges in Blaine and Dewey County ruled Monday in separate cases that OG&E; has shown its customers in Oklahoma would also benefit and the condemnation should be allowed.

Oklahoma City attorney Robert Gum, who is representing the landowners, said his clients are planning to appeal.

Gum said he plans to ask the judges to require OG&E; workers to stay off the properties until the Supreme Court can rule on the cases.

OG&E; spokesman Brian Alford indicated Tuesday that OG&E; would be opposed to a lengthy delay.

“We are working to construct this line as quickly as we can to facilitate adding wind energy to our system,” Alford said. “We would hope we could resolve outstanding issues in short order.”

Some landowners have said they fear the line will devalue their properties, obstruct their views, create dangers for crop dusters, damage global-positioning systems on expensive farming equipment and create health risks for landowners who have pacemakers.

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