{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-190.4","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 17, § 17-190.4","heading":"Study of and development of framework for electric","body":"utility industry restructuring.\n\nA. To ensure an orderly and equitable restructuring of the\n\nelectric utility industry in this state and achieve the goals\n\noutlined in Section 190.2 of this title, the Legislature hereby\n\ndirects the Joint Electric Utility Task Force to undertake a study\n\nof all relevant issues relating to restructuring the electric\n\nutility industry in this state including, but not limited to, those\n\nissues set forth in this section, and develop a proposed electric\n\nutility industry restructuring framework for the State of Oklahoma.\n\nThe Joint Electric Utility Task Force shall address appropriate\n\nsteps to achieve an orderly transition to a competitive market and\n\nmay include in addition to the directives in this act other\n\nprovisions as the task force shall deem necessary and appropriate to\n\nexpedite the transition to full consumer choice. The Corporation\n\nCommission shall assist the task force in achieving the goals\n\noutlined in the Electric Restructuring Act of 1997; provided,\n\nhowever, during the transition period to full consumer choice, the\n\nCorporation Commission is expressly prohibited from promulgating any\n\nrules or issuing any orders relating to the restructuring of\n\nOklahoma's electric utility industry without prior express\n\nauthorization by the Oklahoma State Legislature.\n\nB. It is the intent of the Legislature that the following\n\nprinciples and directives be adhered to in developing a framework\n\nfor a restructured industry:\n\n1. Reliability and safety. Appropriate rules shall be\n\npromulgated, in accordance with the provisions of this act, ensuring\n\nthat reliable and safe electric service is maintained;\n\n2. Competition. Competitive markets are to be encouraged to\n\nthe greatest extent possible. Regulation should serve as a\n\nsubstitute only in those circumstances where competition cannot\n\nprovide results that serve the best interests of all consumers;\n\n3. Consumer choice. Consumers shall be allowed to choose among\n\nretail electric energy suppliers to help ensure fully competitive\n\nand innovative markets. A process should be established whereby all\n\nretail consumers are permitted to choose their retail electric\n\nenergy suppliers by July 1, 2002. Consumer choice means that retail\n\nelectric consumers shall be allowed to purchase different levels and\n\nquality of electric supply from a variety of retail electric energy\n\nsuppliers and that every seller of electric generation in the retail\n\nmarket shall have nondiscriminatory open access to the electric\n\ndistribution system of every retail electric service distributor,\n\nsubject to this act. The Corporation Commission should ensure that\n\nconsumer confusion will be minimized and consumers will be well\n\ninformed about changes resulting from restructuring and increased\n\nchoice;\n\n4. Regulation and unbundling of services. Entities which own\n\nboth transmission and distribution, as well as generation\n\nfacilities, shall not be allowed to use any monopoly position in\n\nthese services as a barrier to competition. Generation services may\n\nbe subject to minimal regulation and shall be functionally separated\n\nfrom transmission and distribution services, which services shall\n\nremain regulated. All retail electric energy suppliers shall be\n\nrequired to meet certain minimum standards designed to ensure\n\nreliability and financial integrity, and be registered with the\n\nCorporation Commission;\n\n5. Unbundling of rates. When consumer choice is introduced,\n\nrates shall be unbundled to provide clear price information on the\n\ncomponents of generation, transmission and distribution and any\n\nother ancillary charges. Electric bills for all classes shall be\n\nunbundled, utilizing line itemization to reveal the various\n\ncomponent cost of providing electrical services. Charges for public\n\nbenefit programs currently authorized by statute or the Commission,\n\nor both, shall be unbundled and appear in line item format on\non the\n\ncomponents of generation, transmission and distribution and any\n\nother ancillary charges. Electric bills for all classes shall be\n\nunbundled, utilizing line itemization to reveal the various\n\ncomponent cost of providing electrical services. Charges for public\n\nbenefit programs currently authorized by statute or the Commission,\n\nor both, shall be unbundled and appear in line item format on\n\nelectric bills for all classes of consumers;\n\n6. Open access to transmission and distribution facilities.\n\nConsumer access to alternative suppliers of electricity requires\n\nopen access to the transmission grid and the distribution system.\n\nComparability shall be assured for retail electric energy suppliers\n\ncompeting with affiliates of entities supplying transmission and\n\ndistribution services. The Corporation Commission shall monitor\n\ncompanies providing transmission and distribution services and take\n\nnecessary measures to ensure that no supplier of such services has\n\nan unfair advantage in offering and pricing such services;\n\n7. Obligation to connect and establishment of firm service\n\nterritories. An entity providing distribution services shall be\n\nrelieved of its traditional obligation to provide electric supply\n\nbut shall have a continuing obligation to provide distribution\n\nservice for all consumers in its service territory. As part of the\n\nrestructuring process firm service territories shall be fixed by a\n\ndate certain, if not currently established by law in order to avoid\n\nwasteful duplication of distribution facilities;\n\n8. Independent system planning committee. The benefits\n\nassociated with implementing an independent system planning\n\ncommittee composed of owners of electric distribution systems to\n\ndevelop and maintain planning and reliability criteria for\n\ndistribution facilities shall be evaluated;\n\n9. Consumer safeguards. Minimum residential consumer service\n\nsafeguards and protections shall be ensured including programs and\n\nmechanisms that enable residential consumers with limited incomes to\n\nobtain affordable essential electric service, and the establishment\n\nof a default provider or providers for any distribution customer who\n\nhas not chosen an alternative retail electric energy supplier;\n\n10. Establishment of a transition period. A defined period for\n\nthe transition to a restructured electric utility industry shall be\n\nestablished. The transition period shall reflect a suitable time\n\nframe for full compliance with the requirements of a restructured\n\nutility industry;\n\n11. Rates for service. Electric rates for all consumer classes\n\nshall not rise above current levels throughout the transition\n\nperiod. If possible, electric rates for all consumers shall be\n\nlowered when feasible as markets become more efficient in a\n\nrestructured industry;\n\n12. Establishment of a distribution access fee. The task force\n\nshall consider the establishment of a distribution access fee to be\n\nassessed to all consumers in the State of Oklahoma connected to\n\nelectric distribution systems regulated by the Corporation\n\nCommission. This fee shall be charged to cover social costs,\n\ncapital costs, operating costs, and other appropriate costs\n\nassociated with the operation of electric distribution systems and\n\nthe provision of electric service to the retail consumer;\n\n13. Recovery of stranded costs. Electric utilities have\n\ntraditionally had an obligation to provide service to consumers\n\nwithin their established service territories and have entered into\n\ncontracts, long-term investments and federally mandated co-\n\ngeneration contracts to meet the needs of consumers. These\n\ninvestments and contracts have resulted in costs which may not be\n\nrecoverable in a competitive restructured market and thus may be\n\n\"stranded\". Procedures shall be established for identifying and\n\nquantifying stranded investments and for allocating costs and\nhave entered into\n\ncontracts, long-term investments and federally mandated co-\n\ngeneration contracts to meet the needs of consumers. These\n\ninvestments and contracts have resulted in costs which may not be\n\nrecoverable in a competitive restructured market and thus may be\n\n\"stranded\". Procedures shall be established for identifying and\n\nquantifying stranded investments and for allocating costs and\n\nmechanisms shall be proposed for recovery of an appropriate amount\n\nof prudently incurred, unmitigable and verifiable stranded costs and\n\ninvestments. As part of this process, each entity shall be required\n\nto propose a recovery plan which establishes its unmitigable and\n\nverifiable stranded costs and investments and a limited recovery\n\nperiod designed to recover such costs expeditiously, provided that\n\nthe recovery period and the amount of qualified transition costs\n\nshall yield a transition charge which shall not cause the total\n\nprice for electric power, including transmission and distribution\n\nservices, for any consumer to exceed the cost per kilowatt-hour paid\n\non April 25, 1997, during the transition period. The transition\n\ncharge shall be applied to all consumers including direct access\n\nconsumers, and shall not disadvantage one class of consumer or\n\nsupplier over another, nor impede competition and shall be allocated\n\nover a period of not less than three (3) years nor more than seven\n\n(7) years; and\n\n14. Transition costs. All transition costs shall be recovered\n\nby virtue of the savings generated by the increased efficiency in\n\nmarkets brought about by restructuring of the electric utility\n\nindustry. All classes of consumers shall share in the transition\n\ncosts.\n\nC. The study of all relevant issues related to electric\n\nindustry restructuring shall be divided into four parts, as follows:\n\nindependent system operator issues, technical issues, financial\n\nissues and consumer issues. All studies created pursuant to this\n\nsection shall be conducted under the direction of the Joint Electric\n\nUtility Task Force. The task force shall direct the Corporation\n\nCommission, the Oklahoma Tax Commission, any other state agency or\n\nconsultant as necessary to assist the task force in the completion\n\nof such studies.\n\n1. The Commission shall commence the study of independent\n\nsystem operator issues no later than July 1, 1997, and provide a\n\nfinal report to the Joint Electric Utility Task Force no later than\n\nFebruary 1, 1998. Such report shall be in writing and shall make\n\nrecommendations as the Commission deems necessary and appropriate\n\nregarding the establishment of an independent system operator in the\n\nState of Oklahoma or the appropriate region.\n\n2. No later than July 1, 1998, the Joint Electric Utility Task\n\nForce shall commence the study of technical issues related to the\n\nrestructuring of the electric utility industry. Such study shall\n\ninclude, but is not limited to, the examination of:\n\na. reliability and safety,\n\nb. unbundling of generation, transmission and\n\ndistribution services,\n\nc. market power,\n\nd. open access to transmission and distribution,\n\ne. transition issues, and\n\nf. any other technical issues the task force deems\n\nappropriate.\n\nA final report shall be completed by the Joint Electric Utility\n\nTask Force no later than October 1, 1999.\n\n3. No later than July 1, 1998, the Joint Electric Utility Task\n\nForce shall commence the study of financial issues related to\n\nrestructuring of the electric utility industry. Such study shall\n\ninclude, but is not limited to, the examination of:\n\na. rates and charges,\n\nb. access and transition costs and fees,\n\nc. stranded costs and their recovery,\n\nd. stranded benefits and their funding,\n\ne. municipal financing,\n\nf. cooperative financing,\n\ng. investor-owned utility financing, and\n\nh. any other financial issues the task force deems\n\nappropriate.\nlimited to, the examination of:\n\na. rates and charges,\n\nb. access and transition costs and fees,\n\nc. stranded costs and their recovery,\n\nd. stranded benefits and their funding,\n\ne. municipal financing,\n\nf. cooperative financing,\n\ng. investor-owned utility financing, and\n\nh. any other financial issues the task force deems\n\nappropriate.\n\nA final report shall be completed by the Joint Electric Utility\n\nTask Force no later than October 1, 1999.\n\n4. No later than September 1, 1998, the Joint Electric Utility\n\nTask Force shall commence the study of consumer issues related to\n\nrestructuring of the electric utility industry. Such study shall\n\ninclude, but is not limited to, the examination of:\n\na. service territories,\n\nb. the obligation to serve,\n\nc. the obligation to connect,\n\nd. consumer safeguards,\n\ne. rates for regulated services,\n\nf. consumer choices,\n\ng. competition,\n\nh. licensing of retail electric energy suppliers, and\n\ni. any other consumer issues the task force finds\n\nappropriate.\n\nA final report shall be completed by the Joint Electric Utility\n\nTask Force no later than October 1, 1999.\n\nD. The Joint Electric Utility Task Force may, if it deems\n\nnecessary, by a majority vote of the members combine or modify any\n\nof the studies required by this act. Provided, however, the task\n\nforce shall not eliminate any of the issues required to be studied\n\nherein.","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":"3046594ebe69f8279759052849cbc90587701e2d5b76d9e6954fa8c73fa69c7a","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-190.3","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-190.5"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}