Commission delays ONG rate settlement hearing

<br>(Oklahoma City-AP) -- The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is delaying a hearing on an Oklahoma Natural Gas proposed rate case. <br><br>The hearing scheduled for Tuesday is now set for Wednesday morning.

Tuesday, January 6th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is delaying a hearing on an Oklahoma Natural Gas proposed rate case.

The hearing scheduled for Tuesday is now set for Wednesday morning.

The ONG proposal could increase an average residential gas bill by about $1.40 per month for up to 18 months. The total rate increase would be $26.4-million, about $10-million less than ONG requested in October.

Nearly $10.5-million would reimburse ONG for the higher cost of inspecting and maintaining customer service lines. The remaining $16-million would be for ongoing line maintenance, natural gas storage costs and future bad debts from customers who fail to pay their bills.

ONG says the proposed rate increase is limited to 18 months because the utility plans to file for a complete rate review by January 2005.