(A) Except as otherwise provided in this section and Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution, each electric supplier shall have the exclusive right to furnish electric service to all electric load centers located presently or in the future within its certified territory, and shall not furnish, make available, render, or extend its electric service for use in electric load centers located within the certified territory of another electric supplier; provided that nothing in sections 4933.81 to 4933.90 of the Revised Code shall impair the power of municipal corporations to require franchises or contracts for the provision of electric service within their boundaries, and provided that any electric supplier may extend its facilities through the certified territory of another electric supplier to connect any of its facilities, to serve electric load centers within its own certified territory or to interconnect with other electric suppliers. In the event that a new electric load center should locate in an area that is composed of two or more adjacent certified territories, the electric supplier in whose certified territory the greater portion of the land area covered by the electric load center is located shall serve that electric load center. In the event that a municipal corporation refuses to grant a franchise or contract for electric service within its boundaries to an electric supplier whose certified territory is included within the municipality, any other electric supplier may serve the municipal corporation under a franchise or contract with the municipal corporation.

(B) Electric suppliers shall furnish adequate facilities to meet the reasonable needs of the consumers and inhabitants in the certified territories that they are authorized and required to serve pursuant to sections 4933.81 to 4933.90 of the Revised Code. The public utilities commission may, after a hearing had upon due notice, make such findings as may be supported by proof as to whether any electric supplier operating in a certified territory, or providing electric service pursuant to division (C) of this section, is rendering or proposes to render physically adequate service to an electric load center and in the event the commission finds that such electric supplier is not rendering and does not propose to render physically adequate service, the commission may enter an order specifying in what particulars such electric supplier has failed to render or propose to render physically adequate service and order that such failure be corrected within a reasonable time to be fixed in such order. If the electric supplier so ordered to correct such failure fails to comply with such order, the commission may authorize another electric supplier to furnish electric service to such electric load center and shall appropriately amend the maps of the certified territory of such electric suppliers.

(C) Except as provided in division (B) of this section and Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution, each electric supplier has the obligation and exclusive right to furnish electric service to electric load centers, wherever located, which it was serving on January 1, 1977, or which it had agreed to serve under lawful contracts in effect on or resulting from written bids submitted under bond prior to January 1, 1977, and no other electric supplier shall furnish, make available, or extend electric service to any such electric load centers.

(D) Sections 4933.81 to 4933.90 of the Revised Code shall not prevent an electric supplier from extending its electric service after the effective date of this section to its own property or facilities.

(E) Notwithstanding the effectuation of certified territories established by or pursuant to sections 4933.81 to 4933.90 of the Revised Code, and the exclusive right of electric suppliers to serve within such territory, and notwithstanding any other provisions of such sections establishing rights of electric suppliers to furnish electric service, any two or more electric suppliers may jointly petition the commission for the reallocation of their own territories and electric load centers among them and designating which portions of such territories and electric load centers are to be served by each of the electric suppliers. The commission, if it finds that granting the petition will promote the purposes of sections 4933.81 to 4933.90 of the Revised Code and will provide adequate service to all territories and electric load centers affected thereby, shall approve such a petition, appropriately modify the territorial boundaries of the petitioning electric suppliers, and amend the maps of the certified territory of such electric suppliers accordingly.

Effective Date: 07-12-1978 .