OKLAHOMA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE v. STATE ex rel. OKLAHOMA CORPORATION COMMISSION

Citations

• 2025 OK 60

Syllabus

¶0 Oklahoma Electric Cooperative (OEC) appealed an order of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission denying OEC's application for injunctive relief against Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E). OEC sought to enjoin OG&E from providing retail electric service to a customer located in OEC's certified territory pursuant to the Large Load exception to the Retail Energy Supplier Certified Territory Act (RESCTA), 17 O.S. 2011, § 158.25 , et seq . The Commission denied OEC's application, but did so based only upon OG&E's affirmative defenses of estoppel, waiver, and laches. We retained OEC's appeal. We hold that RESCTA's Large Load exception does not permit OG&E to connect with third-party transmission lines in order to extend its service into OEC's certified territory, in accord with this Court's recent decision in Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. v. Oklahoma Corp. Comm'n , 2025 OK 15 , 565 P.3d 418 [ People's ]. The Commission erred to the extent its analysis fails to reach this conclusion. Because People's has prospective-only application, however, the practical result is that OG&E will not be enjoined from serving the customer in the present case. We therefore affirm the Commission's order insofar as it permits OG&E to continue providing retail electric service to the customer in OEC's certified territory.