{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-158.27","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 17, § 17-158.27","heading":"General supervision by Commission - Rate investigations","body":"- Notice of proposed rate increases - Petition by member-consumers -\n\nExemption of rural electric cooperatives.\n\nA. The Corporation Commission shall have general supervision\n\nover all associations or cooperative corporations as defined herein\n\nwith power to fix and establish rates and to prescribe rules\n\naffecting their services, operation, and the management and conduct\n\nof their business. It shall have full visitorial and inquisitorial\n\npower to examine such associations or cooperative corporations and\n\nkeep informed as to their general conditions, their capitalization,\n\nrates, plants, equipments, apparatus, and other property owned,\n\nleased, controlled or operated, the value of same, the management,\n\nconduct, operation, practices and services; not only with respect to\n\nthe adequacy, security and accommodation afforded by their service,\n\nbut also with respect to their compliance with the provisions of the\n\nRetail Electric Supplier Certified Territory Act, and with the\n\nConstitution and laws of this state, and with the orders of the\n\nCommission. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable\n\nto generation and transmission associations or cooperative\n\ncorporations, or transmission associations or cooperative\n\ncorporations.\n\nB. 1. An association or cooperative corporation shall be\n\nsubject to rate investigations by the Commission pursuant to\n\nsubsection A of this section unless a proposed increase in rates and\n\ncharges does not exceed three percent (3%) based on the previous\n\ntwelve (12) months revenue generated by the existing rates; provided\n\nhowever, that such association or cooperative corporation shall be\n\nsubject to subsection A of this section if:\n\na. the association or cooperative corporation elects, by\n\naction of its board of trustees, to be subject to rate\n\ninvestigation by the Commission,\n\nb. the percentage of members, that according to bylaws\n\nconstitute a quorum not to exceed five percent (5%) of\n\nthe membership for that particular association or\n\ncooperative have signed a petition requesting rate\n\ninvestigation pursuant to paragraphs 3 or 4 of this\n\nsubsection, or\n\nc. the Commission declares that the association or\n\ncooperative corporation shall be subject to rate\n\ninvestigations by the Commission pursuant to paragraph\n\n6 of this subsection.\n\n2. Each such association or cooperative corporation not subject\n\nto rate investigation, at least ninety (90) days before the\n\neffective date of any proposed rate increase, shall notify the\n\nCommission and each of its member-consumers of the proposed rate\n\nincrease. Notice to the Commission shall include a verified\n\nstatement showing the then total number of member-consumers of the\n\nassociation or cooperative corporation.\n\nNotice by the association or cooperative corporation to its\n\nmember-consumers shall:\n\na. be in a form prescribed by this section,\n\nb. be by regular mail and may be included in regular\n\nmember-consumer billings, and\n\nc. include a schedule of the proposed rate schedules, the\n\neffective date of the proposed rate increase and the\n\nprocedure necessary for the member-consumers to\n\npetition the Commission to examine and determine the\n\nreasonableness of the proposed rate increase.\n\n3. The member-consumers of an association or a cooperative\n\ncorporation may petition the Commission to examine and determine the\n\nreasonableness of the rates and charges proposed by the association\n\nor cooperative corporation pursuant to subparagraph b of paragraph 1\n\nof this subsection. The form of such a petition shall be\n\nsubstantially in compliance with subsection C of this section. A\n\npetition substantially in compliance with such form shall not be\n\ndeemed invalid due to minor errors in its form.\n\n4. If, by the effective date of this proposed increase in rates\n\nand charges, the Commission has received petitions from less than\n\nthe number of member-consumers as set out in subparagraph b of\nuch a petition shall be\n\nsubstantially in compliance with subsection C of this section. A\n\npetition substantially in compliance with such form shall not be\n\ndeemed invalid due to minor errors in its form.\n\n4. If, by the effective date of this proposed increase in rates\n\nand charges, the Commission has received petitions from less than\n\nthe number of member-consumers as set out in subparagraph b of\n\nparagraph 1 of this subsection, requesting that the Commission\n\nexamine the proposed increase in rates and charges, the Commission\n\nshall immediately certify such fact to the association or\n\ncooperative corporation. If, on or before the effective date of the\n\nproposed increase in rates and charges, the Commission has received\n\npetitions from the number of member-consumers as set out in\n\nsubparagraph b of paragraph 1 of this subsection or more, the\n\nCommission shall notify the association or cooperative corporation\n\nthat it will examine and determine the reasonableness of the\n\nproposed increase in rates and charges. Rates and charges\n\nestablished by the Commission or by an association or a cooperative\n\ncorporation pursuant to this section shall be in force for not less\n\nthan one (1) year and no further increases in rates and charges\n\nshall be permitted during said one-year period.\n\n5. No cooperative corporation or association shall have the\n\nright to receive more than one rate increase per year for any reason\n\nor under any procedures.\n\n6. In addition to the procedure for petition prior to any\n\nproposed increase in rates and charges pursuant to paragraphs 1\n\nthrough 4 of this subsection, the member-consumers of an association\n\nor cooperative corporation may at any time petition the Commission\n\nto declare the association or cooperative corporation be subject to\n\nfull scale rate investigation. If the Commission determines that a\n\nmajority of the member-consumers of an association or a cooperative\n\ncorporation have properly petitioned that the association or\n\ncooperative corporation be subject to full scale rate regulations,\n\nthe Commission shall certify such fact to the association or\n\ncooperative corporation and thereafter the association or\n\ncooperative corporation shall be subject to full scale rate\n\ninvestigation by the Commission until at least a majority of the\n\nmember-consumers of the association or cooperative corporation\n\nproperly petition that the association or cooperative corporation\n\nshall no longer be subject to such full scale rate investigations by\n\nthe Commission. The form of such a petition shall substantially\n\ncomply with subsection C of this section.\n\nA petition substantially in compliance with the form pursuant to\n\nsubsection C of this section shall not be deemed invalid due to\n\nminor errors in its form.\n\n7. Paragraphs 1 through 6 of this subsection apply only to the\n\nrates and charges and shall have no effect on the Commission’s\n\njurisdiction over the associations or cooperative corporations or\n\nthe rules and regulations governing the operations of electric\n\nutilities.\n\n8. Each association or cooperative corporation, when\n\ndetermining how rates and charges, established under paragraph 2 of\n\nthis subsection, are to be allocated to the different rate classes,\n\nshall apportion such rates and charges in a manner which reflects,\n\nas closely as practicable, the costs of providing service to that\n\nclass.\n\n9. In no event, and under no circumstances, shall the\n\nprocedures herein provided be utilized for the purpose of\n\nestablishing special competitive rates in any area in which a\n\ncooperative corporation is in direct competition with another\n\nregulated retail electric supplier.\n\nC. 1. A petition requesting the Commission to examine and\n\ndetermine the reasonableness of a proposed increase in rates and\n\ncharges shall be in substantially the following form:\n\na. Form:\n\nspecial competitive rates in any area in which a\n\ncooperative corporation is in direct competition with another\n\nregulated retail electric supplier.\n\nC. 1. A petition requesting the Commission to examine and\n\ndetermine the reasonableness of a proposed increase in rates and\n\ncharges shall be in substantially the following form:\n\na. Form:\n\nThe petition shall be headed by a caption, which shall\n\ncontain (1) the heading, “Before the Corporation\n\nCommission of the State of Oklahoma”; (2) the name of\n\nthe association or cooperative corporation seeking an\n\nincrease in rates and charges; (3) the relief sought.\n\nb. Body:\n\nThe body of the petition shall consist of four\n\nnumbered paragraphs, if applicable, as follows:\n\n(1) Allegations of Facts: The allegations of facts\n\nstated in the form of ultimate facts, without\n\nunnecessary detail, upon which the right to\n\nrelief is based. The allegations will be stated\n\nin numbered subparagraphs as necessary for\n\nclarity,\n\n(2) Legal Authority: Retail Electric Supplier\n\nCertified Territory Act,\n\n(3) Relief Sought: A brief statement of the amount\n\nof the increase in rates and charges that is\n\nobjected to or other relief sought, and\n\n(4) Petitioners: The name, address, telephone number\n\nand signature of each member-consumer.\n\n2. A petition requesting rate regulation of an association or\n\ncooperative corporation shall be in substantially the following\n\nform:\n\na. Form:\n\nThe petition shall be headed by a caption, which shall\n\ncontain (1) the heading, “Before the Corporation\n\nCommission of the State of Oklahoma”; (2) the name of\n\nthe association or cooperative corporation seeking an\n\nincrease in rates and charges; (3) the relief sought.\n\nb. Body:\n\nThe body of the petition shall consist of four\n\nnumbered paragraphs, if applicable, as follows:\n\n(1) Allegations of Facts: The allegations of facts\n\nstated in the form of ultimate facts, without\n\nunnecessary detail, upon which the right to\n\nrelief is based. The allegations will be stated\n\nin numbered subparagraphs as necessary for\n\nclarity,\n\n(2) Legal Authority: Retail Electric Supplier\n\nCertified Territory Act, Sections 158.21 through\n\n158.32 of Title 17 of the Oklahoma Statutes,\n\n(3) Relief Sought: A brief statement of the reason\n\nthe petitioners seek the Commission to regulate\n\nthe rates and charges of the association or\n\ncooperative corporation or other relief sought,\n\nand\n\n(4) Petitioners: The name, address, telephone number\n\nand signature of each member-consumer.\n\n3. Petitions may only be signed by the member-consumer of the\n\nassociation or cooperative corporation.\n\nD. Upon proceedings brought by an interested person or by\n\naction of the Commission, the Commission shall have the jurisdiction\n\nto enforce compliance with the Retail Electric Supplier Certified\n\nTerritory Act, and shall have jurisdiction to prohibit furnishing\n\nretail electric service by any retail electric supplier except in\n\nits certified territory or territories, or where lawfully serving,\n\nand in connection with such enforcement and prohibition to exercise\n\nall powers herein or otherwise granted to the Commission.\n\nE. 1. Rural electric cooperatives, which are owned by the\n\nmember-consumers they serve, are regulated by the member-consumers\n\nthemselves acting through an elected governing board. It is\n\ndeclared that the regulation by the Commission under this section\n\nmay be duplicative of the self-regulation by the rural electric\n\ncooperative and may be neither necessary nor cost-effective. It is\n\ntherefore the purpose of this subsection to determine the necessity\n\nof regulation by the Commission by allowing the member-consumers of\n\na rural electric cooperative to exempt themselves from regulation by\n\nthe Commission except as provided herein.\n\n2. Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs 4, 5, 6 and 7 of\nhe rural electric\n\ncooperative and may be neither necessary nor cost-effective. It is\n\ntherefore the purpose of this subsection to determine the necessity\n\nof regulation by the Commission by allowing the member-consumers of\n\na rural electric cooperative to exempt themselves from regulation by\n\nthe Commission except as provided herein.\n\n2. Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs 4, 5, 6 and 7 of\n\nthis subsection, regulation by the Commission shall not apply to\n\nrural electric cooperatives which comply with paragraph 3 of this\n\nsubsection.\n\n3. To be exempt under paragraph 2 of this subsection from all\n\nCommission regulation, except as provided for in this section, a\n\ncooperative shall poll its members as follows:\n\na. an election under this subsection may be called by the\n\nBoard of Trustees or shall be called not less than one\n\nhundred eighty (180) days after receipt of a valid\n\npetition signed by not less than five percent (5%) of\n\nthe members of the cooperative,\n\nb. the proposition for deregulation shall be presented to\n\na meeting of the members, the notice of which shall\n\nset forth the proposition for deregulation and the\n\ntime and place of the meeting. Notice to the members\n\nshall be written and delivered not less than twenty-\n\none (21) nor more than forty-five (45) days before the\n\ndate of the meeting,\n\nc. if the cooperative mails information to its members\n\nregarding the proposition for deregulation other than\n\nnotice of the election and the ballot, the cooperative\n\nshall also include in such mailing any information in\n\nopposition to the proposition that is submitted by\n\npetition signed by not less than one percent (1%) of\n\nthe cooperative’s members,\n\nd. if the proposition for deregulation is approved by the\n\naffirmative vote of not less than a majority of the\n\nmembers voting on the proposition, the cooperative\n\nshall notify the state Corporation Commission in\n\nwriting of the results within ten (10) days after the\n\ndate of the election, and\n\ne. voting on the proposition for deregulation shall be by\n\nmail ballot, provided, members attending the meeting\n\nprovided for in subparagraph b of this paragraph may\n\nexecute and deliver their ballot to the cooperative\n\nduring or at the conclusion of said meeting.\n\n4. In the event the member-consumers have voted, pursuant to\n\nparagraph 3 of this subsection, to exempt themselves from regulation\n\nby the Commission, any such cooperative may vote no more than once\n\nevery twelve (12) months to place said cooperative under the\n\nregulation of the Commission, as provided in this section. Said\n\nquestion shall be submitted to the member-consumers of the rural\n\nelectric cooperative if at least five percent (5%) of the members of\n\nthe cooperative sign a petition requesting such an election. Such\n\npetition shall be submitted to the membership in the same manner as\n\nprovided for in paragraph 3 of this subsection.\n\n5. Each rural electric cooperative which has voted to exempt\n\nitself from Commission regulation, when determining how rates and\n\ncharges established after such exemption are to be allocated to the\n\ndifferent rate classes, shall apportion such rates and charges in a\n\nmanner which reflects, as closely as practicable, the costs of\n\nproviding service to that class. Each cooperative which has\n\nexempted itself from Commission regulation shall file and maintain a\n\ncopy of all current rates and charges with the Oklahoma Corporation\n\nCommission.\n\n6. In no event, and under no circumstances, shall rates and\n\ncharges established hereunder be utilized for the purpose of\n\nestablishing special competitive rates in any area in which a\n\ncooperative is in direct competition with another regulated retail\n\nutility supplier.\n\n7. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the\n\nCommission shall retain jurisdiction over all cooperatives who have\n\nvoted to exempt themselves from Commission regulation:\ntes and\n\ncharges established hereunder be utilized for the purpose of\n\nestablishing special competitive rates in any area in which a\n\ncooperative is in direct competition with another regulated retail\n\nutility supplier.\n\n7. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the\n\nCommission shall retain jurisdiction over all cooperatives who have\n\nvoted to exempt themselves from Commission regulation:\n\na. for all purposes relating to certified territories\n\nestablished under the Retail Electric Supplier\n\nCertified Territory Act, and\n\nb. for proceedings brought by a regulated utility\n\nrelating to alleged discriminatory or anti-competitive\n\nrates established by an exempt cooperative, or\n\nrelating to actions to acquire existing customers of a\n\nregulated utility using such rates.","path":["OK Code","Title 17"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os17.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"f99165ac348f7c290ee28114ab217abab4ba988ffb8f11ca83e7c65fcd6e1a42","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-158.26","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-158.28"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}