News from the Oklahoma Corporation
Commission
Phone: (405)
522-2100, FAX: (405) 522-1623, www.occ.state.ok.us
August 1, 2002
New State Law
Eliminates the Commission’s Consumer Service Assistance for Many Electric Co-op
Customers
(OKLAHOMA
CITY) – Nearly 200,000 electric cooperative customers in Oklahoma have been
given the right to vote themselves out from under most of the jurisdiction of
the Oklahoma Corporation Commission leaving the Commission with no authority to
assist in mediating consumer problems such as billing and quality of service
issues.
A
new state law, which took effect on July 1, leaves many electric cooperative
customers without a long-standing way to resolve customer complaints and
quality of service disputes. Traditionally, a customer unable to resolve a
billing or quality of service complaint with the electric provider could
contact the Corporation Commission’s (OCC’s) Consumer Service Division and
receive assistance in working to clear up a problem. The new law allows
electric co-ops which have exempted themselves from the Commission’s rate
jurisdiction to also be exempted from any OCC jurisdiction over consumer
complaints or quality of service issues.
Last
year, the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals ruled that co-op members unable to
resolve quality of service complaints with their co-op could still turn to the
Oklahoma Corporation Commission for help. The Commission's Consumer Services
Division filed that case on behalf of a member of the Ada-based Peoples
Electric Co-op (PEC) seeking assistance resolving a complaint. PEC had asserted that the Corporation
Commission no longer had jurisdiction over consumer issues. This year’s new law modified the statute
upon which the ruling was based to clarify that the Commission did not have
jurisdiction over consumer complaints.
OCC
Consumer Service Director Bill Burnett says his department has always worked
with customers needing assistance with billing complaints and quality of
service issues. Now, under the new law, Burnett says his office will inform
consumers from co-ops that have “opted out” that the Commission can no longer
mediate these complaints with these co-ops.
Burnett also says the Commission can no longer run technical field
checks for quality of service on those co-ops where members have voted
themselves out from under Commission jurisdiction.
-Continued-
page
2, “opt-out” continued
The
Co-op member’s recourse under the new law is to first try and resolve the
complaint with the office staff of the co-op. If that does not resolve the
problem, the co-op member may need to explain the problem in writing to the
co-op’s staff manager and the president of the board of directors then ask to
be placed on the agenda of the next regularly scheduled co-op meeting. If no
satisfaction is obtained, the member’s next move might be filing a pleading in
district court.
The
only jurisdiction remaining at the Commission governs disagreements between
service providers over certified territories and anti-competitive issues.
Sixteen
of the 32 electric cooperatives serving Oklahoma consumers have already
“opted-out” from regulation by the Corporation Commission with three others
eligible to do so.
A
list of the electric co-ops that have already “opted-out” from under OCC
jurisdiction is available on the OCC web site at www.occ.state.ok.us.
-OCC-