Natural gas supplier Atmos bought by Canadian company

Natural gas customers in Jackson and throughout the Bootheel will see a new company name on their bills but the faces they've been used to at Atmos Energy will stay the same.

The Missouri Public Service Commission this week approved a deal allowing natural gas systems owned by Atmos Energy of Dallas to be bought out by Liberty Energy Utilities Co., a subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Atmos currently provides natural gas for Missouri customers in Jackson, the Millersville and Fruitland areas, Oak Ridge, Caruthersville, Sikeston and New Madrid, according to Steve Green, manager of public affairs.

Atmos announced last May that it agreed to sell its distribution systems in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa to Liberty for about $124 million. Green said the deal has received regulatory approval in Missouri and Iowa. Before the transition can take place across all three states, it must be approved by Illinois officials, which could take two to three more months.

Part of the approved deal is a stipulation that customers will not see any increase in "non-gas costs through 2013." Green explained that Atmos charges customers the market rate for natural gas and funds company costs through separate monthly user charges. Liberty has agreed not to increase those customer charges through the end of next year. Green said all non-gas charges will continue to be listed clearly on monthly bills.

"The only fluctuation they will see in their rates is the cost of the gas itself," Green said.

Green said natural gas prices are extremely low compared to 10 years ago, due to supply increases created by processes such as "fracking," or hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing has been decried by environmentalists and is banned in several states, but is lauded for helping drive prices down by allowing drilling in unconventional areas. The Environmental Protection Agency website explains that "fractures are created by pumping large quantities of fluids at high pressure down a wellbore and into the target rock formation" stimulating the flow of natural gas and oil. The EPA is studying how the technique affects drinking water and lists several known risks to water supplies and air quality.

In February 2001, Green said, customers were paying $1.13726 for every 100 cubic feet of natural gas that they used. Last month, the price was $0.61637, just more than half what it was a decade ago.

Green said Liberty is "very customer-oriented" and that people should expect to see the same employees in the field and at the office after the transition is complete.

"No one is losing jobs over this," Green said.

salderman@semissourian.com

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