(a) New construction or operation of equipment or facilities for supplying a public service or the extension of a public service shall not be undertaken without first obtaining from the Arkansas Public Service Commission a certificate that public convenience and necessity require or will require the construction or operation.

(b) This section does not require a certificate of public convenience and necessity for:

(1) The replacement or expansion of existing equipment or facilities with similar equipment or facilities in substantially the same location or the rebuilding, upgrading, modernizing, or reconstructing of equipment or facilities that increase capacity if no increase in the width of an existing right-of-way is required;

(2) The construction or operation of equipment or facilities for supplying a public service that has begun under a limited or conditional certificate or authority as provided in §§ 23-3-203 -- 23-3-205;

(3) The extension of a public service:

(A) Within a municipality or district where a public service has been lawfully supplied;

(B) Within or to territory then being served; or

(C) That is necessary in the ordinary course;

(4) Except as provided in § 23-18-504(c), the construction or operation of a major utility facility as defined in the Utility Facility Environmental and Economic Protection Act, § 23-18-501 et seq., or any exemption under the Utility Facility Environmental and Economic Protection Act, § 23-18-501 et seq.; or

(5) The construction, operation, or connection of a new or existing substation or metering point and associated facilities or the extension to such facilities, provided that the public utility owns or has a legally recognized right-of-way, easement, or similar property right to the property that is traversed by the construction or extension to the facilities.

(c) To the extent a member cooperative of a generation and transmission cooperative, as defined under § 23-4-1101, is exempt from the requirement to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity under subsection (b) of this section, the exemption shall extend to the generation and transmission cooperative.

(d) An exemption claimed by a public utility under § 23-18-504(a)(5) does not bar the:

(1) Public utility from seeking the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity under this section; or

(2) Commission from granting the public utility the certificate of public convenience and necessity sought under subdivision (d)(1) of this section and thereby allowing the public utility to seek recovery of the reasonable cost of the equipment or facilities through rates.