The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled this week in support of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company in a legal dispute the utility faced with the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives and Oklkahoma Electric Cooperative.
The court upheld the commissioners decion to allow OGE to continue providing service to a customer outside of its service zone and into the coverage area of Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, Inc. (OEC). OEC went to the commission after OGE extended its retail electric service to a customer in another supplier’s certified territory.
Certified territories fall under what is known as the Retail Energy Supplier Certified Territory Act, which states “another supplier is not permitted to provide retail electric service to customers in OEC’s certified territory unless an exception in the Act is applicable,” according to the Supreme Court. One such exception is the “Large Load” except which allowed a supplier to extend service in an unincorporated area if the connected load for initial full operation is to be 1,000 kilowatts or larger.
In the case before the Supreme Court, it involves OGE’s service of electrical power to the Chisholm Trail Plant, a large cryogenic natural gas facility owned by Blue Mountain Midstream, LLC in an unincorporated area outside the city limits of Tuttle. The plant is located in the certified territory of Oklahoma Electric Cooperative. OGE began providing service to the plant in May, 2018 and in August 2020, the Corporation Commission issued a final order against OEC.
