Petroleum Alliance prepares for annual meeting

The legislators will include Rep. Brad Boles, Rep. Trey Caldwell, Rep. Anthony Moore, Oklahoma State Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, and Senator Kristen Thompson.

Rep. Boles, a candidate for the Republican nomination for Corporation Commission, is also the author of the Data Center Consumer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026. The bill was recently signed into law by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and will shield Oklahoma families and small businesses from higher utility costs tied to large-scale energy users like data centers. The measure establishes guidelines for how all Oklahoma electric suppliers and regulators manage the growing energy demands of data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations and artificial intelligence facilities.

The bill defines “large load customers” as new facilities adding 75 megawatts or more of demand and clarifies that residential, commercial, and traditional industrial customers are not included in that classification. The bill also adds a notice requirement within 60 days of acquiring land for these large load customers requiring them to notify the adjoining landowners, county commissioners, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission which adds more transparency for local communities at the beginning stages of these large projects.

Three other major speakers at the annual meeting include James Danly, Deputy Secretary of Energy. He was sworn in as Deputy Secretary on June 9, 2025. Before arriving at the Department, Deputy Secretary Danly was a partner and the Energy Regulatory Group leader at Skadden in Washington, D.C. This followed his service at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, first as the Commission’s general counsel then as the commissioner and chairman.

Another speaker will be Mike Baselice, President and CEO of Baselice & Associates Inc. Baselice & Associates, Inc. is a national research organization that has conducted projects across a broad range of issues and topics. Michael Baselice, President of Baselice & Associates, Inc., has conducted over 2,800 quantitative and qualitative research projects over the last 28 years.

Baselice & Associates, Inc.’s experience in the fields of public affairs, corporate research, and legal research makes them uniquely qualified to perform survey research to assess the attitudes of customers, stakeholders, voters, and potential jurors. Michael Baselice has extensive experience in political campaigns and issue/referendum projects throughout the United States and abroad.  Since founding Baselice & Associates in 1997, his firm has conducted thousands of survey projects, half of which are corporate and public affairs related.

Prior to starting Baselice & Associates, Inc. in January of 1997, he managed the Houston office for The Tarrance Group where he worked for seven years and personally coordinated over 350 survey projects.  Before his work for The Tarrance Group, he was a research analyst for the National Republican Congressional Committee during the 1988 campaign cycle and conducted opposition research and targeting projects for key congressional campaigns.

A third major speaker at the Alliance annual meeting will be Brandon Rumbelow, President and Chief Financial Officer of Flywheel Energy headquartered in Oklahoma City.

His talk will focus on investing in Oklahoma — why Flywheel continues to do so, and why Oklahoma is well-positioned for the future.