Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 165 - Corporation Commission › Chapter 35 - Electric Utility Rules › Subchapter 1 - General Provisions › Section 165:35-1-2 - Definitions

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this Chapter,
				  shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"Affiliate"
means any person, entity, or
				  business section, or division that directly or through one or more
				  intermediaries controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the
				  entity in question. Control includes, but is not limited to, the possession,
				  directly or indirectly and whether acting alone or in conjunction with others,
				  of the authority to direct the management or policies of a person or entity.
				  Control may be exercised through management, ownership of voting securities or
				  other right to vote, by contract or otherwise. A voting interest or ownership
				  of five percent (5%) or more creates a presumption of control.
"ANSI"
means the American National Standards
				  Institute.
"Capacity"
means the quantity of electric power
				  produced by a generating facility at a point in time, as measured in kilowatts
				  or megawatts.
"Commission"
means the Oklahoma Corporation
				  Commission.
"Company submeter"
means a kWh measuring device
				  provided by the utility located on line beyond the point of delivery of
				  electrical service providing service to another consumer. Usage from these
				  meters are deducted from the meter at point of delivery.
"Competitive bidder"
means any entity that
				  submits a competitive bid in response to a request.
"Competitive bidding process"
means a process to
				  solicit offers to provide fuel supplies, electric generation service, fuel
				  transportation services, and other goods or services related to a utility's
				  provision of electric service to end users.
"Complaint"
means an expression of
				  dissatisfaction regarding the utility's billings, service procedures, or
				  employee conduct which requests or requires some remedial or corrective action
				  be taken by the utility. Complaints may be made by the consumer or other
				  interested party. A complaint may be made orally, electronically or in writing,
				  but must be made or received at the utility's offices.
"Conduit"
means any structure, or section
				  thereof, containing one or more ducts, manholes, or handholes, used for any
				  telephone, cable television, electrical, or communications conductors or
				  cables, owned or controlled, in whole or in part, by one or more public,
				  telecommunications, or consumer-owned utilities.
"Consumer rate class"
means a division of rates
				  as provided by a utility's tariff for pricing electric service.
"Consumer sector"
means a major division of
				  consumers, i.e., residential, commercial, or industrial.
"Consumer submeter"
means a kWh measuring device
				  provided by the customer and located on line beyond the point of delivery of
				  electrical service.
"Consumer"
means any person, member of a
				  cooperative, firm, corporation, municipality or agency, other political
				  subdivision of the United States, or the State of Oklahoma receiving electric
				  service of any nature from a utility. Any reference to a "customer" or
				  "end-user" or "ratepayer" contained in a tariff, or in this Chapter, shall be
				  deemed to mean a "consumer," unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Corporate Support Services"
or
"Shared
				  Services"
means human resources, procurement services, information
				  technology, regulatory services, administrative services, real estate services,
				  legal services, accounting, environmental services, research and development,
				  internal audit, community relations, corporate communications, financial
				  services, financial planning and management support services shared between or
				  among a utility, its parent holding company or an affiliated entity and such
				  other services authorized by the Commission on a case-by-case basis.
"CSD"
means the Consumer Services Division of
				  the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
"Delinquent"
means a payment not received on or
				  before the due date as posted on a utility's bill.
"Disconnection"
means electric service has been
				  discontinued by consumer request or by the utility.
"Economy energy"
means electric energy that is
				  purchased during the course of the day to take advantage of the opportunity to
				  purchase power from unexpected surpluses on or available to the grid more
				  cheaply than producing it oneself or purchasing power under existing contracts.
"Electric consuming facility"
means anything
				  that utilizes electric energy from a central station source.
"Electric energy"
means the quantity of electric
				  power that is generated over a specific interval of time, measured in
				  kilowatt-hours or megawatt-hours.
"Electronic notification"
means any automated
				  communication received by e-mail, phone, text message or fax.
"Electric plant"
means facilities and equipment
				  owned or operated by a utility, including but not limited to generating
				  stations, substations, transformers, towers, poles, conductors, transportation
				  equipment, conduits, meters, motors, real estate, buildings, and dams.
"Electric service"
means the supply of
				  electricity, including generation, transmission, distribution and ancillary
				  services (e.g. spinning and supplemental reserves) for ultimate consumption.
"Electricity"
means electric power and energy
				  produced, transmitted, distributed, or furnished by a utility.
"Energy"
means a quantity of electricity
				  produced over a given time, as measured in kilowatt-hours.
"FERC"
means the Federal Energy Regulatory
				  Commission.
"Filed"
means to present a document and have it
				  accepted by the Court Clerk of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
"Fuel procurement plan"
means a plan that (1)
				  establishes the parameters of a fuel supply portfolio for a utility and (2)
				  strikes an appropriate balance between fuel costs and the related risks to
				  which consumers are exposed (e.g., fuel cost increases and supply disruptions)
				  over the term of the resource plan.
"Fuel supplies"
means the coal, oil, natural gas
				  and other fuels that generation facilities consume to produce electricity and
				  the transportation and transmission services used to deliver those fuels.
"Generation facility"
means a machine or
				  machines capable of producing capacity, energy or other electricity products.
"Generation service"
means the production of
				  energy, capacity and other electricity products to meet customer demands for
				  electricity.
"Generation supplier"
means an entity capable of
				  providing generation service.
"Independent power producer"
means any
				  generation supplier that is not a utility or an affiliate thereof.
"Integrated resource plan"
means a utility's
				  plan as further defined and established in Commission rules found at OAC
				  165:35-37 to ensure that sufficient supply- and demand-side resources are
				  available to meet its obligation to serve and to achieve public policy
				  objectives, including those prescribed by law, rule, or Commission order.
"Interested party"
means any individual or
				  entity with appropriate authority to act on behalf of a particular consumer or
				  group of consumers, or any other party involved in, or affected by, the
				  provision of electric generation service.
"kW"
means kilowatts, and
"kWh"
means kilowatt-hours.
"Legal holiday"
means any day declared by law or
				  proclamation of the Governor of Oklahoma to be a legal holiday or a day on
				  which the United States Parcel Service does not deliver mail.
"Load"
means the amount of electric power
				  delivered or required at any specific point or points on an electric
				  transmission and distribution system.
"Local forecast"
means a statement of what the
				  weather is predicted to be, that is issued by the National Weather Service for
				  a specific county, city, and/or zip-code area.
"Long-term"
means longer than one year.
"Major event"
means a catastrophic event that
				  exceeds the design limits of the electric power system, such as an extreme
				  storm, tornado or earthquake, wherein there is a significant loss of service.
"Meter"
means any device or devices used to
				  measure or register electric power and energy.
"Meter shop"
means a shop used for the
				  inspection, testing, and repair of meters.
"Municipality"
means an incorporated city or
				  town in Oklahoma.
"MW"
means megawatts, and
"MWh"
means megawatt-hours.
"NEC"
means the National Electrical Code issued
				  by the National Fire Protection Association.
"NWS"
means the National Weather Service.
"Owner"
means a public utility,
				  telecommunications utility, or consumer-owned utility that owns or controls
				  poles, ducts, conduits, rights-of-way, manholes, handholes, or other similar
				  facilities.
"Planned interruption"
means electric service
				  has been suspended by the utility.
"Planning period"
means the ten (10) year period
				  that begins on the date that the utility files its integrated resource plan
				  with the Commission.
"Pole"
means any pole that carries distribution
				  lines, telecommunications lines, and that is owned or controlled by a public
				  utility, telecommunications company, or consumer-owned utility.
"Pole occupant"
means any licensee or other
				  entity that constructs, operates, or maintains attachments on poles or within
				  conduits.
"Premises"
means any piece of land or real
				  estate, or any building or other structure or portion thereof, or any facility
				  where electric service is furnished to a consumer.
"Prudence review"
means a comprehensive review
				  that examines as fair, just, and reasonable, a utility's practices, policies,
				  and decisions regarding an investment or expense at the time the investment was
				  made or expense was incurred; including direct or indirect maximization of its
				  positive impacts and mitigation of adverse impact upon its ratepayers,
				  consideration of its ultimate used and useful nature.
"PUD"
means the Public Utility Division of the
				  Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
"Purchased-power procurement plan"
means a plan
				  that establishes the parameters of a purchased-power portfolio for a utility
				  that meets the utility's planning objectives and strikes an appropriate balance
				  between power supply costs and the related risks to which consumers are exposed
				  (e.g., purchased-power cost increases and power supply disruptions) over the
				  term of the resource plan.
"Records"
means documentation maintained by the
				  utility either in electronic or paper form.
"Residence"
means any dwelling unit containing
				  kitchen appliances, permanent sewer, or septic facilities and water service. A
				  weekend cabin and a mobile home are residences when used as such. An individual
				  room in a hotel or motel is not a residence.
"Resources"
means supply-side generating
				  facilities including life extension and repowering projects for such facilities
				  (and the output thereof), and non-supply side programs, including energy
				  efficiency programs and demand response programs.
"RFP"
means "request for proposal," the document
				  that publicly opens a competitive bidding process by describing the utility's
				  needs and seeking bids to fulfill those needs.
"Risk management plan"
means a systematic method
				  utilized by a utility to, among other things:
(A) Identify risks inherent in procuring and
				obtaining a supply portfolio;
(B)
				Establish the means by which the utility plans to address and balance or hedge
				the identified risks related to cost, price volatility and reliability; and
(C) Address the fuel,
				purchased-power and utility supply costs implicit in the utility's supply
				portfolio, and also energy efficiency and demand response programs as a
				potential hedge against risk.
"RUS"
means the Rural Utilities Service.
"Special contract"
means a written agreement
				  between a utility and a consumer providing for furnishing electric service on
				  terms different from those prescribed in approved tariffs.
"Stakeholder"
means an interested party, as
				  defined above.
"Statistical sampling"
means a method for
				  drawing elements from a population such that all possible elements in the
				  population have a known and specified probability of being drawn and such that
				  the set of chosen elements has approximately the same distribution of
				  characteristics as the population from which it was drawn.
"Subdivision"
means any land, wherever located,
				  whether improved or unimproved, contiguous or not, which is divided into lots
				  or proposed to be divided for the purpose of disposition pursuant to a common
				  promotional scheme or plan of advertising for disposition.
"Submit"
means to present a document to the
				  Director of the Public Utility Division.
"Subsidize"
means to furnish financial support
				  by the utility to the affiliate.
"Support equipment"
means guy wires, anchors,
				  anchor rods, and other accessories of the pole owner used to support the
				  structural integrity of the pole.
"Tariff"
includes every rate schedule, or
				  provision thereof, and all terms, conditions, rules, and regulations for
				  furnishing electric service.
"Unplanned or emergency interruption"
means
				  service has been suspended due to circumstances beyond the control of the
				  utility.
"Utility"
means any person, firm, partnership,
				  or corporation furnishing electric service to the public in Oklahoma and
				  subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Commission.
Amended at 10 Ok Reg
				  3561, eff 7-12-93; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 2237, eff 7-1-99; Amended at 21 Ok Reg
				  2085, eff 7-1-04; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 699, eff 2-17-06 (emergency); Amended at
				  23 Ok Reg 1666, eff 7-1-06; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 1566, eff 7-1-08; Amended at
				  26 Ok Reg 1849, eff 6-25-09