{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-158.43","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 17, § 17-158.43","heading":"Affected area division procedure","body":"A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,\n\nwhen as a result of annexation by a municipality, two or more retail\n\nelectric suppliers, excluding the Grand River Dam Authority but\n\nincluding investor-owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives,\n\nmunicipalities that provide electricity either directly or through a\n\ntrust, authority or other political entity and any other retail\n\nsupplier of electricity, have been authorized to serve consumers in\n\nthat annexed area, the area to be defined herein as the “affected\n\narea”, the following procedure shall apply:\n\n1. Any retail electric supplier authorized to serve consumers,\n\nas described in subsection C of this section, in the affected area\n\nwhich intends to negotiate a division of the affected area among the\n\naffected retail electric suppliers shall notify all other retail\n\nelectric suppliers authorized to serve consumers in the same\n\naffected area. Notification shall be performed by certified mail to\n\nthe chief executive officer of a privately owned retail electric\n\nsupplier, including investor-owned utilities and rural electric\n\ncooperatives, or to the mayor of a municipality or chief executive\n\nofficer of any other governmental entity, and a copy of the\n\nnotification shall be transmitted simultaneously to the Corporation\n\nCommission. All affected retail electric suppliers shall negotiate\n\nin good faith to divide the affected area by mutual agreement,\n\nconsistent with the purposes of the Retail Electric Consumer Cost\n\nReduction, Safety and Service Efficiency Act as set out in Section 2\n\nof this act. No retail electric supplier shall be required to\n\nparticipate in negotiations for more than five affected areas at one\n\ntime. Any retail electric supplier that is engaged in, or has\n\nreceived notice for, negotiations in five affected areas, may, upon\n\nreceipt of an additional notice or notices, advise the retail\n\nelectric supplier providing the additional notice or notices of that\n\nfact, in which case the requirements of this subsection to negotiate\n\nshall not begin until at least one of the previous negotiations is\n\ncompleted or the parties are unable to agree after six (6) months of\n\nnegotiation;\n\n2. Within six (6) months of the date of notification, the\n\naffected retail electric suppliers may attempt to negotiate a\n\ndivision of the affected area. Upon successful negotiation, the\n\naffected retail electric suppliers shall execute a contract that\n\nrecites with specificity the precise division of the affected area.\n\nAn executed copy of the contract shall be filed with the Corporation\n\nCommission by and for the investor-owned utility or the rural\n\nelectric cooperative. The Corporation Commission, within ninety\n\n(90) days of receipt of an executed copy of the contract, shall\n\nissue an order approving the division of the affected area as\n\nspecified in the contract for the investor-owned utility or the\n\nrural electric cooperative unless the Corporation Commission\n\ndetermines, after hearing, that the contract does not comply with\n\nprovisions of the Retail Electric Consumer Cost Reduction, Safety\n\nand Service Efficiency Act or that it is not in the public interest.\n\nThere shall be a presumption that a contract that complies with\n\nprovisions of this act is in the public interest. If a municipal\n\nelectric supplier is a party to the contract dividing the affected\n\narea, the contract shall be approved for the municipal electric\n\nsupplier by the governing body of the municipality that is providing\n\nelectricity either directly or through a trust, authority or other\n\npolitical entity within ninety (90) days unless the governing body\n\nof the municipality determines that the contract does not comply\n\nwith the provisions of the Retail Electric Consumer Cost Reduction,\n\nSafety and Service Efficiency Act or that it is not in the public\n\ninterest. No contract executed under provisions of this act shall\nctricity either directly or through a trust, authority or other\n\npolitical entity within ninety (90) days unless the governing body\n\nof the municipality determines that the contract does not comply\n\nwith the provisions of the Retail Electric Consumer Cost Reduction,\n\nSafety and Service Efficiency Act or that it is not in the public\n\ninterest. No contract executed under provisions of this act shall\n\nbecome effective until the contract is approved by the Corporation\n\nCommission for the investor-owned utility or the rural electric\n\ncooperative and the governing body of the municipality in the case\n\nof a municipal electric provider. Nothing in this act shall be\n\nconstrued to authorize, create or imply any regulation of or\n\nauthority over any municipal electric provider by the Corporation\n\nCommission for any purpose, whether or not an agreement under this\n\nact is entered into by the municipal electric provider. To the\n\nextent that a dispute arises after the execution and approval of an\n\nagreement made pursuant to this act between an investor-owned\n\nutility or a rural electric cooperative with a municipal electric\n\nprovider, then the Oklahoma district courts shall have exclusive\n\njurisdiction in the contract dispute;\n\n3. The provisions of this paragraph shall not be applicable:\n\na. to a municipal electric provider, or\n\nb. where one of the retail electric suppliers is a\n\nmunicipal electric supplier and the municipal electric\n\nsupplier or any retail electric supplier are unable to\n\nreach an agreement regarding the division of an\n\naffected area, as defined in this act.\n\nIf the affected retail electric suppliers, excluding municipal\n\nelectric providers, are unable to agree to a division of the\n\naffected area within the applicable six-month period, either retail\n\nelectric supplier shall have sixty (60) days in which to notify the\n\nCorporation Commission of the inability of the retail electric\n\nsuppliers to negotiate a division of the affected area. Upon\n\nreceipt of the notice, the Corporation Commission shall, within six\n\n(6) months, divide the affected area among the affected retail\n\nelectric suppliers based upon projected sales and other criteria so\n\nthat each affected retail electric supplier shall have, as nearly as\n\nis reasonable, an approximately equal share of the projected\n\neconomic benefits associated with the extension of retail electric\n\nservice to new electric-consuming facilities in the affected area.\n\nWhen dividing the affected area so as to achieve equal shares of the\n\nfuture growth in projected economic benefit of providing retail\n\nelectric service in the affected area, the Corporation Commission\n\nshall not consider the economic benefits associated with serving\n\nretail electric customers existing prior to the order dividing the\n\naffected area between retail electric suppliers. The Corporation\n\nCommission shall consider economic projections provided by the\n\naffected retail electric suppliers. The Corporation Commission may\n\nchoose to employ or contract with an independent consultant to\n\nprovide economic projections, in which case the reasonable, ordinary\n\nand necessary costs of the consultant shall be borne equally by the\n\naffected retail electric suppliers. In all cases, criteria upon\n\nwhich the Corporation Commission makes its determination shall\n\ninclude public safety, current and projected population, existing\n\nelectric service, current and anticipated municipal zoning,\n\npotential customer revenue, quality of electric service, cost to\n\nprovide electric service, growth potential over a ten-year period,\n\nconservation of natural resources and materials and efficient use of\n\npublic rights-of-way. After making its determination, the\n\nCorporation Commission shall issue an order dividing the territory\n\namong the affected retail electric suppliers. An order by the\n, cost to\n\nprovide electric service, growth potential over a ten-year period,\n\nconservation of natural resources and materials and efficient use of\n\npublic rights-of-way. After making its determination, the\n\nCorporation Commission shall issue an order dividing the territory\n\namong the affected retail electric suppliers. An order by the\n\nCommission, dividing the affected area between the affected retail\n\nelectric suppliers, shall provide each retail electric supplier, as\n\nnearly as is reasonable, an equal share of the future growth in\n\nprojected economic benefit of providing retail electric service in\n\nthe affected area. In no event, however, shall the Corporation\n\nCommission issue an order that affects the right of a retail\n\nelectric supplier to continue serving existing customers in the\n\naffected area that the retail electric supplier was serving prior to\n\nthe effective date of the Commission order except as otherwise\n\nprovided by law; and\n\n4. During the time beginning when two or more retail electric\n\nsuppliers are authorized to serve consumers in an affected area and\n\nending when a contract is approved under this act, the affected\n\nretail electric suppliers shall be entitled to continue to provide\n\nand extend electric service to retail consumers within the affected\n\narea. Nothing in this act shall be construed to affect the right of\n\na retail electric supplier to continue serving existing customers in\n\nthe affected area that the retail electric supplier was serving\n\nprior to the effective date of approval by the Corporation\n\nCommission.\n\nB. Upon the approval by the Corporation Commission of an\n\nagreement dividing an affected area as specified in the Retail\n\nElectric Consumer Cost Reduction, Safety and Service Efficiency Act,\n\nthe governing body of a municipality may, at its sole discretion,\n\ncollect, by municipal ordinance, an annual municipal fee upon the\n\ngross receipt from all retail sales of power, light, or electricity,\n\nin the affected area of the municipality. An investor-owned utility\n\nor rural electric cooperative that enters into a contract with\n\nanother retail electric supplier in an affected area, or that is\n\nassigned territory by the Corporation Commission under subsection A\n\nof this section, beginning thirty (30) days after the effective date\n\nof the municipal ordinance, shall collect and remit to the\n\nmunicipality in the affected area the municipal fee specified in the\n\nmunicipal ordinance, upon the gross receipts from all retail sales\n\nof power, light, or electricity, in the affected area of the\n\nmunicipality. The municipal fee shall not exceed the cumulative\n\namount of any current or future municipal sales tax as applied to\n\neach consumer plus the greater amount of any voter-approved\n\nfranchise fee or annual tax on gross receipts levied as a result of\n\na municipal ordinance enacted pursuant to Section 2601 of Title 68\n\nof the Oklahoma Statutes less any current or future municipal sales\n\ntax, franchise fee or gross receipts fee paid by the retail electric\n\nservice provider or its customers to the municipality. The\n\nmunicipal fee amount shall be collected from the customers of the\n\nretail electric supplier on the gross receipts from all retail sales\n\nin the affected area within the municipal corporate limits and be\n\nremitted by the retail electric supplier to the municipality in the\n\naffected area.\n\nC. Two or more retail electric suppliers shall be eligible to\n\ninitiate or participate in the negotiations provided by subsection A\n\nof this section if, and only if, one of the following conditions is\n\nmet:\n\n1. When a retail electric supplier has a franchise agreement\n\nwith a municipality, and the municipality annexes or has annexed\n\nprior to the effective date of this act territory completely or\n\npartially certified to one or more other retail electric suppliers\niate or participate in the negotiations provided by subsection A\n\nof this section if, and only if, one of the following conditions is\n\nmet:\n\n1. When a retail electric supplier has a franchise agreement\n\nwith a municipality, and the municipality annexes or has annexed\n\nprior to the effective date of this act territory completely or\n\npartially certified to one or more other retail electric suppliers\n\nunder the Retail Electric Supplier Certified Territory Act;\n\n2. When a municipality or beneficial trust or authority thereof\n\nprovides retail electric distribution service from a municipally\n\nowned or trust- or authority-owned electric distribution system, and\n\nthe municipality annexes or has annexed prior to the effective date\n\nof this act territory completely or partially certified to one or\n\nmore other retail electric suppliers under the Retail Electric\n\nSupplier Certified Territory Act;\n\n3. When two or more retail electric suppliers are, upon the\n\neffective date of this act, lawfully providing retail electric\n\nservice in an area that is not included within any other certified\n\nterritory of a retail electric supplier, as defined in the Retail\n\nElectric Supplier Certified Territory Act; or\n\n4. When by virtue of annexation by a municipality two or more\n\nretail electric suppliers are authorized by franchise, state statute\n\nor court order to provide retail electric service in such annexed\n\narea.","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":"3f712b7cb6329d8a7d1a254d272be9a709a300042e377da84dabb78b7c2f581f","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-158.42","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-158.44"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}