Retail Unbundling - Kansas
Status: The state has no unbundled services for residential customers but is considering action.
Overview: The Kansas Corporation Commission began a general investigation into unbundling the state's natural gas industry in 1999. On February 10, 1999, the commission filed a notice of inquiry (Docket 99-GIMG-538-GIG) to solicit input from local distribution companies (LDCs) and other interested parties as to whether retail unbundling is appropriate and in the public interest. In October 1999, the commission decided not to order statewide unbundling at this time, but invited Midwest Energy to file a request for a pilot choice program for its residential customers. The commission also issued an order to consider an index pricing system for natural gas and directed the staff to propose a performance-based ratemaking (PBR) mechanism. In December 2000, the commission recommended that a pilot program be established to ascertain whether the proposed PBR mechanism is feasible.
EIA State Data: In 2001, Kansas had 836,486 residential and 86,820 commercial customers. They consumed 70 and 38 billion
cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas, respectively. The average prices paid for natural gas purchased from local distribution companies by
residential and commercial customers were $9.38 and $8.52 per thousand cubic feet, respectively. The average city gate price for
the state was $6.06 per thousand cubic feet. Only one of the many LDCs in Kansas had more than 13 percent of the total
residential or commercial market in 2001. That utility, Kansas Gas Service, supplied 69 percent of the state's residential customers
and 67 percent of the commercial customers.
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File Last modified: 01/31/2003