News from the Oklahoma Corporation
Commission
Phone: (405)
521-4180, FAX: (405) 522-1623 www.occ.state.ok.us
July 6, 2001
COMMISSION APPROVES HEARING
ON NEWSPAPER’S BID FOR DOCUMENTS UTILITY WANTS KEPT SECRET
(Oklahoma City) The Oklahoma Corporation Commission
today voted unanimously to hold a hearing to determine whether certain
documents related to Oklahoma Natural Gas Company’s (ONG) gas costs should
continue to be kept from the public. The hearing was requested by Vice Chair
Bob Anthony as well as Commission General Counsel William Burkett.
At
issue is an Open Records Act request by the Oklahoma Constitution Newspaper,
which is seeking a resolution approved at a ONEOK Board of Directors meeting
held on April 20, 2000. ONG is a division of ONEOK. The minutes of that meeting
were admitted into evidence by the Commission during last week’s interim
hearing reviewing ONG’s gas purchase practices of last winter. They were submitted
by ONG under a protective order requested by the company and granted by the
Commission. The protective order made no finding as to the validity of the
company’s claim the information in question meets the standard set by Oklahoma
law that would entitle it to receive confidential treatment. Rather, the
protective order required that all claimed confidential and/or privileged
material shall be kept from the public until otherwise ordered by the
Commission.
Commissioner
Anthony says state law makes it clear the Open Records request should be
considered by the Commission.
“Our
state’s Constitution recognizes and guarantees that all political power is
inherent in the people, and that the public policy of the State of Oklahoma is
that the people are therefore vested with the inherent right to know and be
fully informed about their government, except in instances where specific state
and federal laws would deem the information in question to be confidential.
“The
matter concerns the review of a state-regulated, publicly held utility’s
purchased gas adjustment (PGA). State law is clear such reviews, and certain
records related to the review, are to be public. There is certainly an argument
that can be made as to the public’s right to the information in question.”
The
hearing will be held on Wednesday July 11, when the Commission is already
scheduled to hear an appeal from ONEOK of a Commission Administrative Law
Judge’s finding holding the company in contempt and assessing a 2 thousand
dollar a day fine for refusing to comply with a Commission order seeking
information from ONEOK subsidiaries on gas sales.
-occ-