City manager says new gas coalition saved Tuttle customers thousands during winter storm; distribution loops planned for Silver Ridge

City Manager Aaron Slattery told the Tuttle City Council on March 10 that switching the city’s natural-gas purchasing to the Oklahoma Municipal Natural Gas Coalition (ONGC / referred to as the coalition and Omeg in meeting remarks) produced markedly lower invoices during a recent Arctic cold spell compared with the city’s prior supplier.

Slattery said usage and temperatures during the winter event were similar to a cold spell in January 2024, but the per-unit cost charged to the city differed. “Back in January of 2024, we were paying upwards of $26 a unit,” Slattery said during his report. “This February… we paid $4.35 a unit, and our total invoice from Omeg was a hundred and $40,000.” He told the council the previous invoice for a comparable event had been substantially higher (discussion referenced a prior invoiced amount of about $333,666 in the transcript).

Why it matters: Lower procurement cost reduces the need to pass emergency commodity spikes to customers and lowers municipal exposure to volatile spot pricing. The coalition approach pooled purchases across multiple members and used purchased reserves to avoid going to the open market, Slattery said.

Distribution problems and upgrades: Council members asked about service interruptions during the cold nights. Slattery described a pattern of increasing “kickoffs” (reset meters) on successive very cold nights and said the incidents were concentrated in the Silver Ridge area, where the gas system is not yet looped. He said staff has estimates to close the loop from Sarah Road (south of Silver City Ridge Road) underneath the highway to tie into a 4-inch main at a nearby lift station; a second closure would come from Cemetery Road north to Silver City Ridge Road. “We need them to come up from Sarah Road… and then go back west from Sarah underneath the highway and tie it in to where the 4 inch main is out there at that lift station,” Slattery said.

Slattery added that the planned 76 gas-line upgrade will further reduce future pressure issues and that looping remaining unlooped sections should materially reduce the customer resets experienced during successive cold nights.

What the record shows: staff attributed the improved cost outcome to active market monitoring by the coalition’s buyer, who could shift purchases and draw on reserves instead of buying at high spot prices. Council members asked operational questions; Slattery gave location-specific descriptions of the loop work that will be discussed under next year’s capital projects and materials purchases.

Next steps: staff indicated they will place materials purchases and loop work on the capital agenda for the coming year; council members asked that pricing and schedule information be provided when the item returns for funding approval.