News from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission

Jim Palmer, Director of Information

July 15, 1999

By a vote of 2-0 the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has approved an order unbundling the upstream natural gas gathering and storage services of Oklahoma Natural Gas Co. (ONG) and Kansas Gas Service Co. (KGS), divisions of ONEOK, Inc.

Commissioners Denise Bode and Ed Apple voted for the order while Chairman Bob Anthony concurred with the result in a separate opinion.

The order removes ONEOK’s storage and gathering assets from utility rates effective Nov 1, 1999. It further provides for storage and gathering services to be based on market rates and not set by the Commission.

Commissioner Bode called the approval of the order a "historic occasion" and referred to the unbundling and ratepayer savings from competitive bidding as "in the best interest of Oklahomans today."

Commissioner Apple emphasized that he had "confidence in the market place" and said "Oklahoma will be well served."

Chairman Bob Anthony said in his separate opinion "I concur in the results of bringing the savings anticipated by this order to ratepayers beginning November 1, 1999. Those savings include $5.5 million in natural gas costs through the competitive bidding process and a $5.7 million rate base reduction in gathering."

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