Rep. Trey Caldwell’s utility bill, the one that some have called a Right of First Refusal bill but he says isn’t, won overwhelming support Wednesday in an Oklahoma House Committee.
The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 13-2 to send HB2747 to the full House for consideration. Under Caldwell’s bill, the Corporation Commission would be directed to approve an application for electric generating facility or
long-term purchase power contract within 180 days if the facility uses natural gas as its primary source of fuel.
The bill would also allow a utility to ” begin to recover return on or and return of Construction-Work-In-Progress expenses prior to commercial operation of a newly constructed electric generation facility.”
Critics earlier had charged the bill was simply another effort by Rep. Caldwell to produce a ROFR or Right of First Refusal bill to help utilities in avoiding competitive bidding on transmission projects in the state. Rep. Caldwell denied their claims.
The committee members who opposed the measure were Reps. Jared Deck and Mickey Dollens.
Those who supported the measure were Reps. Brad Boles, John Pfeiffer, Nick Archer, Caldwell, Mark Chapman, Rusty Cornwell, Mike Dobrinski, John George, Jim Grego, Ken Luttrell, Kenton Patzkowsky, Ajay Pittman and Rick West.