WFEC Breaks Ground on $1B Hugo Gas Turbine Expansion in Oklahoma
Western Farmers Electric Cooperative broke ground Oct. 14 on a nearly $1 billion Hugo Plant expansion adding nine gas turbines and about 400 MW in southeast Oklahoma, OK Energy Today reports.
Project Sc
The nine units will sit alongside the plant’s coal-fired unit, which has served WFEC members since 1982, and lift Hugo’s total capability to over 800 MW. The new turbines are Hugo Units 3 through 11: three Siemens Energy SGT-600 and six SGT-800 combustion turbines. Construction is expected to finish by mid-2029. The roughly $1 billion figure covers the project and everything that supports it, not just the turbines.
Planning began in 2023 and included reviews of generation technologies, pipeline alternatives, engineering firms and construction contractors. WFEC says the build was driven by Southwest Power Pool (SPP) changes and continued load growth among its member systems. CEO Gary Roulet said the additions will double generation capacity at the site while using existing infrastructure. VP of Generation Justin Soderberg described the units as the dispatchable capacity needed to support continued renewable expansion. WFEC says it has more than 1,000 MW of renewables in service or expected by the end of the decade.
Fagen, Inc. is the contractor responsible for building the nine generators and is expected to ramp up its workforce in January 2027. Oklahoma Natural Gas will own a new 43-mile pipeline from Bennington, Okla., to the plant, with construction expected to start in mid-2027. Upstream supply will come from an existing pipeline at a connection point in Bennington. At peak, the project, plant outage staff and pipeline construction should support up to 600 workers, mainly in Choctaw and Bryan Counties, with some draw from surrounding Southeast Oklahoma counties and Northeast Texas.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Fagen is the buyer for the generator scopes. Fagen is the named contractor for the nine units, but WFEC has not described how civil, electrical, mechanical or pipe-fabrication packages will be split or awarded, and no procurement details have been published. With a January 2027 workforce ramp, subcontract buyout on Fagen’s side likely happens before then (our inference). Pitch Fagen on civil, electrical and mechanical scopes now.
- Turbine installation work is skills-specific. Three SGT-600 and six SGT-800 units mean repeated setting, alignment and tie-in work through mid-2029. Millwrights, riggers, electricians, and instrumentation and controls techs have the longest runway. Mechanical and pipefitting crews should expect fuel gas and balance-of-plant piping, though scope details have not been released.
- The pipeline is a separate market. Oklahoma Natural Gas owns the 43-mile Bennington-to-Hugo line, and construction is expected to start in mid-2027. No pipeline contractor has been named. Line crews, HDD operators, welders, inspectors and right-of-way firms should target ONG’s contractor selection ahead of that start.
- Outage work overlaps with construction. The 600-worker peak includes plant outage staff, so existing-unit maintenance will run alongside the new build. Turnaround and outage service providers should expect competition for local labor and lodging in Choctaw and Bryan Counties.
- Local hiring may be the edge. WFEC expects economic activity to concentrate in Choctaw and Bryan Counties, with Northeast Texas also named. Firms based within that radius have a mobilization and per diem advantage over out-of-region crews.
