Overview
- Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the bills on Thursday, Aug. 6, putting the large-load protections into immediate effect and scheduling the water rules to start Nov. 1.
- House Bill 2992 takes effect immediately, defines a 'large load' as any customer above 75 megawatts, and boosts the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s authority to require developers to pay grid-connection and shared-system costs.
- Senate Bill 259, the Groundwater Modernization Act, requires annual water-use reports to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and bars using groundwater in open-air evaporative cooling without recirculation starting November 1.
- Oklahoma Gas & Electric said its planned large-load tariff meets or exceeds HB 2992 by making new high-demand customers pay full connection costs and their share of system resources, and the tariff will be reviewed by regulators this fall.
- Farmers and some data-center leaders praised the laws as protecting bills and water while residents near planned sites remain concerned; the rules’ real effect will depend on how regulators write and enforce tariffs, reporting and permitting.