News from the Oklahoma Corporation
Commission
Phone: (405)
522-2100, FAX: (405) 522-1623, www.occ.state.ok.us
COMMISSIONERS
ACT TO CUT “O-N-G” FUEL COST PASS-THROUGH TO CUSTOMERS
(OKLAHOMA CITY) – The
Oklahoma Corporation Commission has voted unanimously to slash by 7.7% the
amount of Oklahoma Natural Gas Company’s (ONG’s) pass-through costs of natural
gas to its customers.
The Commission’s reduction
in fuel costs for ONG customers will total $35,000,000 on March bills. The
average residential customer will see a drop of about $6. Commissioners
reviewed with expert testimony the natural gas fuel costs for the company and
chose to cut the charge per *Mcf or *dekatherm from the February figure of
$7.14 to $6.58 for March. The $6.58 includes an 0.87 deferred monthly fuel cost
which represents 1/12th of the total deferred cost for March.
Chairman Bob Anthony said
“Today’s vote will help soften the impact on Oklahoma consumers of this
winter’s extraordinarily high natural gas heating bills.
Commissioner Denise Bode
said “I want the Commission to continue to personally review these gas costs to
ensure the company is maximizing low cost gas purchases. I am pleased that gas
bills will again be reduced in keeping with market prices coming down.”
“We have acted in a
responsible manner as a Commission in working with ONG to mitigate the cost of
fuel passed-through to the customer,” said Commissioner Ed Apple. He expressed
a preference for allowing ONG to recover its deferred costs before the next
winter heating season instead of adding the deferred cost to next year’s
heating bills.
This is the second monthly
hearing on ONG’s fuel charge pass-through and the Commission will conduct
another review next month.
In another action, the
Commission also reduced OG&E’s requested increase in fuel costs. The impact
will be a reduction of 3 mills per kilowatt hour (kwh) on customer bills. That
equals about $3.00 per one-thousand kilowatts.
-occ-