ONG seeks to aid schools via gas credits

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma Natural Gas Co. asked for permission Thursday to give cash-strapped Oklahoma schools some relief in the form of $1.5 million in credits on their February gas bills. <br><br>ONG

Friday, January 10th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma Natural Gas Co. asked for permission Thursday to give cash-strapped Oklahoma schools some relief in the form of $1.5 million in credits on their February gas bills.

ONG is seeking to distribute the money _ the result of a 1997 legal settlement _ to the 2,030 schools in 253 school districts it services.

In its filing with the state Corporation Commission, ONG asked that the process be expedited to provide a decision no later than Jan. 24. That way, the utility would be able to apply the credit in February, typically the state's coldest month.

``The credit would provide relief to public education and is a tremendous help,'' said John Hammel, Tulsa Public Schools spokesman. ``Our people were short of dancing in the hallways when we heard about it. We thank them for their public support, and we urge the Corporation Commission to look upon this proposal with favor.''

Tulsa Public Schools would save about $200,000 if the request is approved, according to ONG.

The utility expects the credit to save Oklahoma City Public Schools $145,000.

``In light of everything going on with the budget, this is some really good news,'' said Sherry Fair, spokeswoman for Oklahoma City Public Schools. ``It will help us a lot with our February bill, and the district thinks it's wonderful that in a difficult financial time for education like this, they have thought of education.''

The 1997 settlement stemmed from a case that dates to the 1980s. Kansas utilities paid too much in property taxes to their suppliers and passed the cost on to their customers. As part of the settlement, the suppliers refunded money to the utilities, which are to pass the refund to their customers.

ONG received a portion of the settlement because it serves customers in Oklahoma formerly served by Kansas Gas Service.

In 2001, ONG distributed $1 million in credits to its 800,000 Oklahoma customers. When the time came for the second round of credits, ONG executives decided to try for a different solution.

``If we could target the public schools, the impact would be far greater than if we just distributed the money among the 800,000 customers, which would only amount to pennies per month,'' ONG spokesman Don Sherry said. ``If the Oklahoma Corporation Commission sees fit to allow us to allocate the money this way, it could have a significant impact on the budget issues facing our schools.''

Corporation Commission spokesman Jim Palmer said he expects a hearing to be held between Jan. 14 and 24.