TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTIFICATES OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION TO SUPPLY A PUBLIC SERVICE OR TO EXTEND A PUBLIC SERVICE.

More utility projects skip state certificates

Arkansas expands exemptions from the state certificate needed to build facilities that provide or extend public services. Exempt work includes replacing or expanding existing facilities with similar facilities in substantially the same location. Capacity-increasing rebuilding and upgrades also qualify when they do not require a wider existing right-of-way. Projects already started under limited or conditional state certificates or authority also qualify. Service extensions qualify within municipalities or districts already lawfully served, within or into territory already served, or when necessary for ordinary operations. Major utility facilities and exemptions under Arkansas’s utility facility environmental law qualify, except as provided in § 23-18-504(c). These exemptions also cover facilities majority-owned by one or more exempt wholesale generators, as defined in Arkansas law. The law does not itself change household utility rates or guarantee new service.