LET’S START WITH KOCO JASON BURGER AND JASON. WOW. FOR THE SECOND TIME, VOTERS IN NORMAN SAYING NO TO EXTENDING AN AGREEMENT THERE WITH OG AND E. YEAH GUYS. THAT’S RIGHT. THIS RACE WAS DOWN TO THE WIRE TONIGHT. PRELIMINARY DATA SHOWING THE PROPOSITION FAILING BY ONLY ABOUT 30 VOTES. NOW, THIS BALLOT QUESTION ASKED VOTERS IF THEY WANTED TO EXTEND THE CITY’S FRANCHISE AGREEMENT WITH OG. AND AFTER VOTING IT DOWN IN 2023, NOW THAT MEANS ALLOWING OG AND E TO GET ON CITY PROPERTY AND FIX OR WORK ON INFRASTRUCTURE. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER MICHAEL NASH TOLD KOCO PREVIOUSLY. HE THINKS THE 25 YEAR EXTENSION AGREEMENT IN QUESTION IS TOO MUCH, AND WAS PUSHING LOCALS TO VOTE NO, SO THE DEAL COULD BE RENEGOTIATED. HE WANTS OG TO IMPROVE THEIR POWER GRID. HOWEVER, MARY LARRY HAIKALA SAYS HE’S CONFIDENT WITH OG AND E AND THEY ARE THE BEST OPTION FOR THE CITY OF NORMAN. HOWEVER, THE MAYOR TOLD US PREVIOUSLY IT’S NOT CLEAR WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THE AGREEMENT IS NOT RENEWED. NO IDEA. WE DIDN’T. WE SCRAMBLED WHEN THE FIRST ONE WAS TURNED DOWN BECAUSE WE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN. SOME PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT IF THEY VOTE DOWN, UH OG AND E AGREEMENT THAT THEY CAN HAVE OEC. YOU CAN’T DO THAT. THE CORPORATION COMMISSION HAS ALREADY MADE UP TERRITORIES. THE ELECTRIC COMPANIES CANNOT, AND GAS COMPANIES CANNOT CHANGE FROM THOSE TERRITORIES. NOW, WITHIN THE LAST HOUR WE HEARD FROM OG AND E, THEY ARE OF COURSE DISAPPOINTED WITH THE VOTE. TONIGHT, AFTER SERVING THE NORMAN AREA FOR OVER 100 YEARS NOW, THEY GAVE US A STATEMENT AND I’LL READ IT HERE. IN PART THEY SAY, QUOTE, WITHOUT A FRANCHISE AGREEMENT, OG AND E AND NORMAN WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE UNDER AN IMPLIED CONTRACT OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, OG HAS WORKED IN GOOD FAITH WITH THE CITY, INVESTING TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, IMPROVING RELIABILITY AND THE ABSENCE OF A FRANCHISE AGREEMENT. UNFORTUNATELY, THAT GOOD FAITH WAS NOT RECIPROCATED. NOW, THEY ADDED, THEY WILL
Norman residents reject proposition to renew agreement with OG&E
Preliminary results show that 50.9% of voters decided against the proposition
Updated: 10:08 PM CST Mar 5, 2024
Norman residents voted against a proposition that would have kept the electric company OG&E around for 25 more years.On Tuesday, voters got another chance to extend their agreement with OG&E after voting it down in 2023. The state requires a city and power company to have an agreement.Now that the proposition failed, Norman Mayor Larry Heikkila said he's unsure what's going to happen next and is worried the courts will step in because an agreement hasn't been met."We don't know what'll happen if this vote fails," Norman Mayor Larry Heikkila said in February. "Why are we messing with the court? Why do we have to bring that into court?"Those against the measure said they thought a 25-year agreement was too long and the city needed to renegotiate. They added that their biggest problem was they wanted OG&E to improve the grid. "It's not a huge burden to vote on this every five, 10 years," Norman City Councilmember Michael Nash said. "Improvement on their infrastructure, people suggest burying more lines."Nash said they hope the city can negotiate the terms they want."We can negotiate anything that the people, the constituents, the residents of Norman feel is important to them," Nash said. After the election, OG&E sent KOCO 5 a statement. "We are disappointed in the election outcome. Without a franchise agreement, OG&E and the city of Norman will continue to operate under an implied contract. Over the last five years OG&E has worked in good faith with the city, investing tens of millions of dollars improving reliability in the absence of a franchise agreement. Unfortunately, that good faith was not reciprocated. We will evaluate the long-term status of other agreements or projects underway with the city. OG&E has served Norman for more than 100 years and remains committed to our customers. We will continue to provide the electricity they need to power their homes and businesses," OG&E said in the statement. Top Headlines Logan County voters decide on 3 propositions on Super Tuesday Canadian County voters approve proposition for liquor sales to begin at 8 a.m. on Sundays Donald Trump, Joe Biden win Oklahoma's Super Tuesday presidential primary elections Petition to raise Oklahoma's minimum wage gets green light from Oklahoma Supreme Court
NORMAN, Okla. — Norman residents voted against a proposition that would have kept the electric company OG&E around for 25 more years.
On Tuesday, voters got another chance to extend their agreement with OG&E after voting it down in 2023. The state requires a city and power company to have an agreement.
Now that the proposition failed, Norman Mayor Larry Heikkila said he's unsure what's going to happen next and is worried the courts will step in because an agreement hasn't been met.
"We don't know what'll happen if this vote fails," Norman Mayor Larry Heikkila said in February. "Why are we messing with the court? Why do we have to bring that into court?"
Those against the measure said they thought a 25-year agreement was too long and the city needed to renegotiate. They added that their biggest problem was they wanted OG&E to improve the grid.
"It's not a huge burden to vote on this every five, 10 years," Norman City Councilmember Michael Nash said. "Improvement on their infrastructure, people suggest burying more lines."
Nash said they hope the city can negotiate the terms they want.
"We can negotiate anything that the people, the constituents, the residents of Norman feel is important to them," Nash said.
After the election, OG&E sent KOCO 5 a statement.
"We are disappointed in the election outcome. Without a franchise agreement, OG&E and the city of Norman will continue to operate under an implied contract. Over the last five years OG&E has worked in good faith with the city, investing tens of millions of dollars improving reliability in the absence of a franchise agreement. Unfortunately, that good faith was not reciprocated. We will evaluate the long-term status of other agreements or projects underway with the city. OG&E has served Norman for more than 100 years and remains committed to our customers. We will continue to provide the electricity they need to power their homes and businesses," OG&E said in the statement.
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