Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 165 - Corporation Commission
Chapter 45 - Gas Service Utilities
Subchapter 19 - Downstream Services
Section 165:45-19-3 - Downstream service unbundling plan
Current through Vol. 41, No. 13, March 15, 2024
(a) No later than September 1, 1998, each Class A utility with 25,000 or more customers shall commence a collaborative process wherein a downstream unbundling plan shall be developed. Interested parties, including, but not limited to, downstream service providers (marketers), the Attorney General, and the Commission's PUD, may participate in the collaborative process. The downstream unbundling plan should include but not be limited to the following requirements:
(b) To ensure that the public interest is best served by the restructuring of the natural gas industry, the Commission may implement a consumer education program of its own design. The Commission may seek the assistance of those parties directly or indirectly involved.
(c) The foregoing are intended as guidelines for a competitive rate and tariff structure. Utilities may find that one or more aspects of these guidelines are not practical for various reasons. Where this is the case the utilities may request an exemption from complying with that part of the guidelines. In such cases the utility should provide substantial documentation to support an exemption.
(d) Any interested party may by August 1, 1998, file a statement with the Commission, with a copy mailed to the utility and the Attorney General, giving its notice of intent to participate in the collaborative process set forth in subsection (a).
(e) Each collaborative process set forth in subsection (a) shall establish financial performance standards and appropriate consumer protection measures and safeguards.
(f) On or before April 1, 1999, the utility shall file with the Commission an application for approval of the proposed downstream unbundling plan that was developed as a result of the collaborative process set forth in subsection (a). The Commission shall conduct an examination and review of the utility's application. It is intended that the collaborative process continue between the applicant utility, the entity(ies) desiring to provide the downstream service, the Attorney General and any other party granted intervention status.
(g) The Commission shall conduct a public hearing on the utility's application for approval of its downstream unbundling plan and shall issue an order on or before June 1, 1999.
(h) Upon issuance of the Commission order, the utility shall begin implementation of the approved downstream unbundling plan for an in service date of October 1, 1999.
(i) It is recognized that the unbundling of the downstream system of a currently regulated utility may have potential tax implications. It is, therefore, contemplated that this subsection is subject to modification by the legislature or the Commission regarding tax implications, if any, and that the dates set forth herein may be modified by Commission order as appropriate to address tax issues.
(j) The Commission will, from time to time, reconvene the collaborative group(s) formed in response to subsection (a) for the purposes of monitoring the progress of the unbundling implemented pursuant to this Subchapter and refining, as necessary, the terms, conditions, and rates adopted as a result of those collaborative discussions. New parties may join the collaborative group at any time by giving notice of their intent to participate to a collaborative group as it then exists.
(k) The dates, stated herein, may be reestablished by order of the Commission for utilities with less than 25,000 customers.
(l) In lieu of the requirements of this Subchapter, a utility that has not begun implementation of a downstream unbundling plan as of July 1, 2014, shall submit a statement annually, detailing the basis for which implementation has not occurred, to the PUD Director.
Added at 15 Ok Reg 2177, eff 7-1-98