State Rep. Trey Caldwell is making a third attempt to create what he says is not a ROFR or Right of First Refusal bill in the legislature.
Three of the measures he filed for the approaching legislative session are HB2747, HB 2751 and HB2756. The three focus on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, competitive bidding, utilities, and electric transmission facilities and resumble Caldwell’s efforts over the past two years.
As HB2751 indicates, the Corporation Commission would have the authority over transmission lines and allow a retail electric supplier or rural electric cooperative to “construct, own and maintain such facilities” as long as it meets certain conditions. One would be the requirement for the utility to solicit competitive bids for the construction and “Transmission developers—shall not e precluded from submitting bids through the solicitation….”
The bill calls for an independent evaluator appointed by the Commission to oversee the solicitation for competitive bids. The measure does not refer to any “Right of First Refusal” which drew opposition in last year’s legislative session.
In February of 2024, Rep. Caldwell maintained his House Bill 4097 was not a ROFR bill and would promote more transmission lines in the state. At one point, he claimed there were misconceptions about HB4097 and declared “the well has been poisoned.”
An AARP official called the bill a “rotten deal for residential utility customers” and that the bill lmandated an “anti-competitive practice” that would drive up higher rates for utility customers. The bill won approval in the House but no vote in the Senate was ever taken and it was referred to a committee.
Caldwell, who had not been successful in a similar bill in the 2023 legislative session campaigned for HB 4097, which on the surface appears to be very much like the newest version in the 2025 legislative session.
“It’s avoiding the downfalls of the traditional ROFR and will have more competition on the front end,” he contended last year.
“This is not a ROFR bill,” he said. “Some say it will stifle competition but that’s absolutely false.”
We reached out to Rep. Caldwell for comment regarding his latest bills but did not receive a response.
Caldwell’s second measure, HB2756 would create a new law requiring any Oklahoma electric supplier or cooperative to obtain a Certificate of Authority from the Corporation Commisson for construction of an electric transmission facility. In order to obtain such a certificate,the applicant would be required to show the proposed route of any transmission line, identify the energy resource and the counties affected and provide an estimate of the costs “including potential costs or savings impacts.”
The Lawton Representative’s third measure, HB2747, also applies to electric utilities, transmission contruction, competitive bidding and natural gas. The bill would require the Corporation Commission to approve an application by a utility that “utilizes natural gas as its primary fuel source” within 180 days and not the current 240 days required by law.
Competitive bidding would also be required by the utility. Caldwell’s bill would also allow any incumbent electric transmission owner the right to construct, own and maintain “any such” facility that has been approved for construction in a Southwest Power Pool transmission plan. The bill has applications for transmission facilities greater than 300 kilovolts and those less than 300 kilovolts.
But it also has an exception for electric cooperatives that are not a member of the SPP, stating they can contruct, own, and maintain local electric transmission facilities “without regard to the provisions” of the section.