{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-851","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 17, § 17-851","heading":"Retail electric supplier or rural electric cooperative —","body":"Certificate of authority required for electric transmission\n\nfacilities — Application.\n\nA. This section shall not be construed to require any Oklahoma\n\nretail electric supplier or rural electric cooperative to secure a\n\ncertificate of authority for any extension, rebuild, or upgrade to\n\nan electric transmission facility.\n\nB. A transmission developer shall file an application to obtain\n\na certificate of authority from the Corporation Commission for each\n\nelectric transmission facility. No electric transmission facility\n\nshall be commenced without obtaining a certificate of authority.\n\nSuch application shall include, but shall not be limited to, the\n\nfollowing:\n\n1. The name, address, and contact information of a named\n\nrepresentative or representatives of the transmission developer and\n\na telephone number and electronic email address for each such\n\nrepresentative or representatives;\n\n2. A description and a map or plat of the proposed route or\n\nroutes or alternative route or routes for any electric transmission\n\nfacility regardless of whether or not a transmission developer has\n\nmade a submission or received approval from the Southwest Power Pool\n\nor any other applicable regional planning process or other federal\n\nauthority;\n\n3. Identification of any and all such counties within the\n\nelectric transmission facility’s route or routes or alternative\n\nroute or routes;\n\n4. Identification of any energy resource or resources to which\n\nthe electric transmission facility is to be directly connected or,\n\nto the extent known, resources to which the electric transmission\n\nfacility could be connected to integrate existing natural gas or\n\nother resource generation; and\n\n5. An estimate of the costs, including potential costs or\n\nsavings impacts, to any Oklahoma electric customers and the\n\nestimated time frame for the electric transmission facility being\n\ndeveloped.\n\nC. If the transmission developer is required to file subsequent\n\nforms with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or any\n\nother agency or organization due to changing the route or height of\n\nindividual structures from the locations or heights originally\n\nproposed, the transmission developer shall, within ten (10) days of\n\nfiling with the FERC or other agency or organization, file such\n\nsubsequent forms with the Corporation Commission. A transmission\n\ndeveloper shall not be required to start the notification process\n\nover unless the subsequent FERC or other agency or organization\n\napplication expands the project beyond the original boundaries in\n\nthe application filed with the Corporation Commission.\n\nD. Prior to or at the time of the hearing on the certificate of\n\nauthority, the transmission developer shall provide:\n\n1. Within thirty (30) days after filing an application with the\n\nCommission as provided for in subsection B of this section, proof of\n\npublication that the transmission developer published notice of the\n\napplication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or\n\ncounties in which all or a portion of the electric transmission\n\nfacility is to be located;\n\n2. Within sixty (60) days after filing an application with the\n\nCommission as provided in subsection B of this section, proof of\n\nservice that the transmission developer published notice to be sent\n\nby certified mail to:\n\na. the board of county commissioners of every county in\n\nwhich all or a portion of the electric transmission\n\nfacility is to be located and, if all or a portion of\n\nthe electric transmission facility is to be located\n\nwithin the incorporated area of a municipality, the\n\ngoverning body of the municipality,\n\nb. all surface landowners, as reflected in the public\n\nland records of the county clerk’s office, upon which\n\nall or any part of the surface estate is located\n\nwithin the electric transmission facility route or\n\nroutes or alternative route or routes,\non of\n\nthe electric transmission facility is to be located\n\nwithin the incorporated area of a municipality, the\n\ngoverning body of the municipality,\n\nb. all surface landowners, as reflected in the public\n\nland records of the county clerk’s office, upon which\n\nall or any part of the surface estate is located\n\nwithin the electric transmission facility route or\n\nroutes or alternative route or routes,\n\nc. any operator, as reflected in the records of the\n\nCommission, who is conducting oil and gas operations\n\nupon all or any part of the surface estate as to which\n\nthe transmission developer intends the construction of\n\nthe electric transmission facility, and\n\nd. any operator, as reflected in the records of the\n\nCommission, of an unspaced unit, or a unit created by\n\norder of the Commission, who is conducting oil and gas\n\noperations for the unit where all or any part of the\n\nunit area is within the geographical boundaries of the\n\nsurface estate as to which the transmission developer\n\nintends the construction of the electric transmission\n\nfacility.\n\nIf the transmission developer makes a search with reasonable\n\ndiligence and the whereabouts of any party entitled to any notice\n\ndescribed in this paragraph cannot be ascertained or such notice\n\ncannot be delivered, then an affidavit attesting to such diligent\n\nsearch for the parties shall be filed with the Commission;\n\n3. Within ninety (90) days of publishing the notice in a\n\nnewspaper as provided for in paragraph 1 of subsection D of this\n\nsection, a public meeting in the county or counties in which all or\n\na portion of the electric transmission facility is to be located.\n\nNotice of the public meeting shall be published in a newspaper of\n\ngeneral circulation and submitted to the board of county\n\ncommissioners in the county or counties in which all or a portion of\n\nthe electric transmission facility is to be located. The notice\n\nshall contain the place, date, and time of the public meeting.\n\nProof of the publication of the notice shall be submitted to the\n\nCommission;\n\n4. An attestation that the transmission developer has or shall\n\nsecure or maintain sufficient insurance coverage to cover any and\n\nall aspects of the electric transmission facility from construction\n\nthrough operation and maintenance, or any transfer of ownership;\n\n5. Evidence that impacts to the environment and public safety\n\nwill be addressed by the transmission developer;\n\n6. A safety plan that will be in place and will be updated for\n\nthe electric transmission facility and will be provided to the\n\nCommission upon request;\n\n7. That the electric transmission facility is beneficial and in\n\nthe public interest;\n\n8. A decommission plan that identifies the methodology used to\n\nmitigate potential impacts resulting from the cessation of operation\n\nat the end of the electric transmission facility’s useful life,\n\nwhich includes, but is not limited to:\n\na. identification of specific project components that\n\nwill be removed,\n\nb. a description of the decommission process in the event\n\nof abandonment during construction and abandonment\n\nduring operation,\n\nc. a description of the process used for land and road\n\nrestoration, and\n\nd. the financial capability of a transmission developer,\n\nincluding a financial surety guarantee, if required by\n\nthe Commission prior to commencing construction or\n\nupon any transfer of ownership, in a form and amount\n\nto be determined by the Commission, which shall remain\n\nin effect until release is authorized by the\n\nCommission; and\n\n9. Any additional information required by the Commission from\n\nthe transmission developer prior to or during the hearing,\n\nincluding, but not limited to, information related to potential\n\nimpacts to ad valorem taxes to surface owners.\n\nE. Approval through an order of the Commission is required\n\nprior to the effectiveness of any transfer.\n\nF. Within two hundred (200) days of filing the original\nnd\n\n9. Any additional information required by the Commission from\n\nthe transmission developer prior to or during the hearing,\n\nincluding, but not limited to, information related to potential\n\nimpacts to ad valorem taxes to surface owners.\n\nE. Approval through an order of the Commission is required\n\nprior to the effectiveness of any transfer.\n\nF. Within two hundred (200) days of filing the original\n\napplication or any amended application with the Commission, if the\n\ntransmission developer has met the aforementioned requirements, the\n\nCommission shall issue an order granting a certificate of authority.\n\nFailure to issue an order on a completed application by the\n\nCommission shall result in the certificate of authority being deemed\n\ngranted.\n\nG. The Commission is authorized to assess a filing fee for any\n\ncertificate of authority, not to exceed One Thousand Dollars\n\n($1,000.00). The Commission shall promulgate rules to implement\n\nthis act. Nothing in this act will be deemed to authorize any\n\ntransmission developer the power to exercise eminent domain,\n\ncondemnation, siting, or project-specific approval not already\n\nprovided in the Oklahoma Statutes.","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":"e75da91c9b2474219eb91db5e3189e04a534970f194eb6c743adcadc56379704","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-850","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-86"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}