State government; extreme purchase; extraordinary costs; audit; definitions; effective date.

HB 1350 allows regulated utilities (like electricity or water providers) to recover "extreme purchase costs" and "extraordinary costs" through ratepayer-backed bonds instead of traditional financing. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission must review these requests, requiring utilities to provide cost details, demonstrate customer savings from bond financing, and undergo a mandatory audit before approval. The bill mandates the Commission to evaluate whether this method reduces customer bills compared to standard utility financing and ensures costs are fair and prudently incurred. It also requires utilities to offset recovered costs if they later receive insurance payments or grants for those expenses. This process aims to lower long-term costs for utility customers while creating a structured review mechanism for significant expense recovery.