The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — With fuel costs soaring and Oklahomans struggling to keep up, the statewide campaign for a seat on the state agency that regulates utilities and the oil and natural gas industry is getting a lot of attention.

State Rep. Rob Johnson and former administrative law judge Dana Murphy are seeking the Republican nomination for a seat on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Their July 29 primary election will determine which of them will face Democratic Commissioner Jim Roth in the Nov. 4 general election.

All three candidates are vying for the remaining two years of the unexpired term of former Commissioner Denise Bode, who resigned to take a position with a private foundation. Roth was appointed to the seat by Gov. Brad Henry.

The race between the GOP candidates is being waged as fuel prices climb to historic levels. The price of oil topped $140 a barrel on Friday — a new record — and natural gas sold for more than $13 per thousand cubic feet, approaching the all-time high price of about $15 per mcf set in December 2005.

Rising fuel costs and their impact on energy prices will place new emphasis on the Corporation Commission’s duty to assure that Oklahomans have reliable and affordable supplies of energy to power their homes and businesses, the candidates said.

“Oklahoma’s in a good place, but I think it’s going to be challenged to keep that place,” said Murphy, a former geologist who operates an oil and gas legal practice in Edmond.

“I think this is a good time to start adjusting our thermostat and learning how to change our lives. Because I think that what we do now is going to make a big difference in the future,” she said.

“I think as Americans we’re going to have to learn not to waste so much.”

Johnson, an attorney from Kingfisher and two-term state representatives who is majority whip in the Republican-controlled House, said a seat on the commission is one of the most important positions in the state.

“We need people that are going to be on the commission that are going to stand up for Oklahoma and promote us as an energy-producing state while being consumer advocates and watching out for the consumers,” Johnson said.

The campaign is Murphy’s second for a Corporation Commission post. A former vice chair of the state Republican Party, Murphy got 41 percent of the vote in a primary runoff contest in 2002 that was won by Commissioner Jeff Cloud.

Murphy said she has worked with the commission as an expert witness, practicing attorney and administrative law judge, credentials that she said make her the most qualified candidate in the race.

“I have a wide-ranging perspective of that agency and how things work,” said Murphy, who for six years was an administrative law judge primarily on oil and gas cases.

“When you know things from the bottom up, I think it really gives you a really solid fundamental basis for understanding,” she said. “I know the department. I know the people. I know how cases work. I have an in-depth understanding of the rules.”

Johnson, who worked on federal energy policy issues while an assistant to U.S. Rep. Tom Cole and former Rep. Wes Watkins, said his experience in the Legislature will help him bring a fresh approach to the commission’s rulemaking and quasi-judicial functions.

“Historically, the commission and the Legislature have butted heads on a lot of issues, and a lot of that is over power and who has the authority,” Johnson said. He said commission members should work closely with lawmakers to establish an energy policy that promotes the state, builds an energy infrastructure and protects consumers.

“I’ve got the relationships here and I know the process,” Johnson said from inside his state Capitol office. “I feel I am the most well-rounded. I think I bring both government and real-world experience.”

The candidates agreed the state is not doing enough to diversify the fuels Oklahoma utilities use to generate electricity and risks higher prices unless it begins using coal, wind, solar and nuclear fuels to supplement natural gas.

Oklahoma residential customers generally pay between 7.7-cents and 8.5-cents per kilowatt hour for electricity, among the lowest in the nation.

“You don’t go out and buy all of one type of stock. You buy diversification. And I think that applies to the energy side as well,” Murphy said.

“I think we’ve gotten a decent start, Johnson said. “I don’t think we’re doing enough yet.”

Last year, the three-member commission voted 2-1 against raising customer rates to pay for a $1.8 billion, 950-megawatt coal-fired plant proposed by Public Service Company of Oklahoma in northern Oklahoma. The utility abandoned plans for the project.

Opponents said the utility had not proven it had sufficiently explored alternatives, including demand-side management and conservation programs to reduce electricity usage.

Murphy and Johnson said they did not hear all the evidence in the case and did not know how they would have voted. But both said new coal technology that emits less pollutants has made it an attractive alternative to higher-priced fuels.

“I would have been inclined to allow them to build a plant that was not based on natural gas. I would have been inclined to let them recoup the money for that cost,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to increase our electricity capacity. But second, we’ve got to make sure we’re diversified.”

“Am I open to the use of coal? Yes,” said Murphy. “Am I open to the use of nuclear power? Yes.”

Oklahoma power producers have said the estimated $5 billion cost and lengthy construction time for a nuclear power plant make it unlikely they will turn to nuclear energy to meet rising consumer demand.

But the candidates said nuclear energy is an alternative the commission should explore for the state’s energy future.

“I think it’s something that we really have to look at. But I think people have to ask: ‘Do you want to put a nuclear power plant in tornado alley?’” Murphy said.

“Government tends to be very reactive from my experience and not proactive. It tends to determine that there’s a problem when it’s already at the door,” Johnson said. “I always try to look forward. I think that’s what we have to do as a state, too.”