Okla. Stat. tit. 17, § 17-851

Certificate of authority required for electric transmission

facilities — Application.

A. This section shall not be construed to require any Oklahoma

retail electric supplier or rural electric cooperative to secure a

certificate of authority for any extension, rebuild, or upgrade to

an electric transmission facility.

B. A transmission developer shall file an application to obtain

a certificate of authority from the Corporation Commission for each

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 17. Corporation Commission Page 310

electric transmission facility. No electric transmission facility

shall be commenced without obtaining a certificate of authority.

Such application shall include, but shall not be limited to, the

following:

1. The name, address, and contact information of a named

representative or representatives of the transmission developer and

a telephone number and electronic email address for each such

representative or representatives;

2. A description and a map or plat of the proposed route or

routes or alternative route or routes for any electric transmission

facility regardless of whether or not a transmission developer has

made a submission or received approval from the Southwest Power Pool

or any other applicable regional planning process or other federal

authority;

3. Identification of any and all such counties within the

electric transmission facility’s route or routes or alternative

route or routes;

4. Identification of any energy resource or resources to which

the electric transmission facility is to be directly connected or,

to the extent known, resources to which the electric transmission

facility could be connected to integrate existing natural gas or

other resource generation; and

5. An estimate of the costs, including potential costs or

savings impacts, to any Oklahoma electric customers and the

estimated time frame for the electric transmission facility being

developed.

C. If the transmission developer is required to file subsequent

forms with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or any

other agency or organization due to changing the route or height of

individual structures from the locations or heights originally

proposed, the transmission developer shall, within ten (10) days of

filing with the FERC or other agency or organization, file such

subsequent forms with the Corporation Commission. A transmission

developer shall not be required to start the notification process

over unless the subsequent FERC or other agency or organization

application expands the project beyond the original boundaries in

the application filed with the Corporation Commission.

D. Prior to or at the time of the hearing on the certificate of

authority, the transmission developer shall provide:

1. Within thirty (30) days after filing an application with the

Commission as provided for in subsection B of this section, proof of

publication that the transmission developer published notice of the

application in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or

counties in which all or a portion of the electric transmission

facility is to be located;

2. Within sixty (60) days after filing an application with the

Commission as provided in subsection B of this section, proof of

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service that the transmission developer published notice to be sent

by certified mail to:

a. the board of county commissioners of every county in

which all or a portion of the electric transmission

facility is to be located and, if all or a portion of

the electric transmission facility is to be located

within the incorporated area of a municipality, the

governing body of the municipality,

b. all surface landowners, as reflected in the public

land records of the county clerk’s office, upon which

all or any part of the surface estate is located

within the electric transmission facility route or

routes or alternative route or routes,
on of

the electric transmission facility is to be located

within the incorporated area of a municipality, the

governing body of the municipality,

b. all surface landowners, as reflected in the public

land records of the county clerk’s office, upon which

all or any part of the surface estate is located

within the electric transmission facility route or

routes or alternative route or routes,

c. any operator, as reflected in the records of the

Commission, who is conducting oil and gas operations

upon all or any part of the surface estate as to which

the transmission developer intends the construction of

the electric transmission facility, and

d. any operator, as reflected in the records of the

Commission, of an unspaced unit, or a unit created by

order of the Commission, who is conducting oil and gas

operations for the unit where all or any part of the

unit area is within the geographical boundaries of the

surface estate as to which the transmission developer

intends the construction of the electric transmission

facility.

If the transmission developer makes a search with reasonable

diligence and the whereabouts of any party entitled to any notice

described in this paragraph cannot be ascertained or such notice

cannot be delivered, then an affidavit attesting to such diligent

search for the parties shall be filed with the Commission;

3. Within ninety (90) days of publishing the notice in a

newspaper as provided for in paragraph 1 of subsection D of this

section, a public meeting in the county or counties in which all or

a portion of the electric transmission facility is to be located.

Notice of the public meeting shall be published in a newspaper of

general circulation and submitted to the board of county

commissioners in the county or counties in which all or a portion of

the electric transmission facility is to be located. The notice

shall contain the place, date, and time of the public meeting.

Proof of the publication of the notice shall be submitted to the

Commission;

4. An attestation that the transmission developer has or shall

secure or maintain sufficient insurance coverage to cover any and

all aspects of the electric transmission facility from construction

through operation and maintenance, or any transfer of ownership;

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5. Evidence that impacts to the environment and public safety

will be addressed by the transmission developer;

6. A safety plan that will be in place and will be updated for

the electric transmission facility and will be provided to the

Commission upon request;

7. That the electric transmission facility is beneficial and in

the public interest;

8. A decommission plan that identifies the methodology used to

mitigate potential impacts resulting from the cessation of operation

at the end of the electric transmission facility’s useful life,

which includes, but is not limited to:

a. identification of specific project components that

will be removed,

b. a description of the decommission process in the event

of abandonment during construction and abandonment

during operation,

c. a description of the process used for land and road

restoration, and

d. the financial capability of a transmission developer,

including a financial surety guarantee, if required by

the Commission prior to commencing construction or

upon any transfer of ownership, in a form and amount

to be determined by the Commission, which shall remain

in effect until release is authorized by the

Commission; and

9. Any additional information required by the Commission from

the transmission developer prior to or during the hearing,

including, but not limited to, information related to potential

impacts to ad valorem taxes to surface owners.

E. Approval through an order of the Commission is required

prior to the effectiveness of any transfer.

F. Within two hundred (200) days of filing the original
nd

9. Any additional information required by the Commission from

the transmission developer prior to or during the hearing,

including, but not limited to, information related to potential

impacts to ad valorem taxes to surface owners.

E. Approval through an order of the Commission is required

prior to the effectiveness of any transfer.

F. Within two hundred (200) days of filing the original

application or any amended application with the Commission, if the

transmission developer has met the aforementioned requirements, the

Commission shall issue an order granting a certificate of authority.

Failure to issue an order on a completed application by the

Commission shall result in the certificate of authority being deemed

granted.

G. The Commission is authorized to assess a filing fee for any

certificate of authority, not to exceed One Thousand Dollars

($1,000.00). The Commission shall promulgate rules to implement

this act. Nothing in this act will be deemed to authorize any

transmission developer the power to exercise eminent domain,

condemnation, siting, or project-specific approval not already

provided in the Oklahoma Statutes.