Electric regulation committee chairman sees deregulation deadline pushed back being

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The chairman of the state House Energy and Utility Regulation Committee predicted on Tuesday that the deadline for Oklahoma to deregulate its electric industry probably will be pushed back at least two years.

Larry Rice, D- Pryor, said a proposal to delay the deadline "seems to be a pretty popular consensus."

"I think business and industry would be favorable to that, simply because if we do an implementation, they need some time to get their companies ready for it, physically, and also to educate the consumers," Rice said.

In 1997, the Legislature set a July 1, 2002, goal for Oklahoma to implement electric deregulation.

Proponents have said deregulation would bring competition to the electricity market and allow consumers to select their electricity provider. But California's problems with electric deregulation in the past year has raised questions about whether Oklahoma should follow suit.

The Legislature is expected to take up the deregulation issue when the session starts next month. The House rejected an implementation bill on the final day of the 2000 Legislature.

Rice, whose committee will study deregulation proposals, said he believes the implementation date will be delayed "at least two years, maybe even further."

One prefiled House bill would erase a deadline from Oklahoma law.

"I think there'll be a date certain that will get people ready," Rice said.

House members have prefiled four deregulation implementation bills, he said.

"I think one major hurdle we have to cross is to make sure that the attorney general feels like we have consumer protection in place," Rice said. "We've got to make sure that everyone has a comfort level.

"Even though we're totally different from California, perception is what we deal with."

Rice said other states have deregulated with few problems.

Oklahoma has the eighth-lowest electricity prices in the nation and the lowest in the region.

Critics have said producers could make more money by selling their electricity in other states instead of Oklahoma.

Rice said that producers in Arkansas, Missouri or Texas may have surplus power they could sell in Oklahoma.

"I think in an open market like that, you have people who are competing. The consumer will pick the cheapest one."