Customers who took ONG up on its annual offer for locking in fuel rates have come out ahead only twice in the past seven years, according to records at Oklahoma Natural Gas Co.

Natural gas prices currently are near seven-year lows, which may or may not make this year's lock-in less of a gamble.

ONG customers this year can pay $6.19 per dekatherm, nearly $5 less than last year's rate, according to the latest offer announced Tuesday.

Officials of the Tulsa-based utility point out that the voluntary plan offers no guarantees, just pricing stability in a historically volatile market.

"The voluntary fixed-price plan is an option that some customers may wish to consider to help manage their natural gas bills," ONG President Roger Mitchell said in a statement.

A summary of ONG's lock-in offer since 2002 shows that customers who took the deal saved money only twice -- in 2002-03 and 2005-06.

Extreme fluctuations in the gas market over the past 12 months have hit locked-in customers hard, costing average residential customers about $227 more from Nov. 1, 2008, through July 31 than they would have paid without the deal, according to reports.

Some industry analysts believe natural gas prices have nowhere to go but up, despite historically high inventories in storage or proven reserves.

Economic recovery, possible federal intervention into the regulation of hydraulic fracturing and other energy policy changes could eventually push future prices higher, they say.

ONG's voluntary fixed-price plan rarely has been popular with customers.

Last year, fewer than 11,000 of the potential 800,000 statewide signed on for the locked-in rate of $11.048 per dekatherm.

The best year was Nov. 1, 2005, to Oct. 31, 2006, when nearly 76,000 customers took the deal. They saved an average of $106.76 compared to fuel costs paid by other customers.

Whatever rate they pay, ONG customers are not getting the wholesale price of natural gas straight off the New York Mercantile Exchange or the Henry Hub in Louisiana.

The ONG fuel rate also is a rolling average factoring gas bought months in advance and through markets tied to indexed prices.

The utility also charges service and delivery fees based on its own distribution, storage and bidding costs, among other things.

ONG makes no profit on the sale of the fuel, spokesman Don Sherry pointed out.

"Customers pay what we pay for the gas," he said.

"We earn our return by also charging for the service we provide delivering the gas to homes and business through our pipeline system."

A dekatherm is roughly equivalent to 1 million British thermal units.

Tuesday's closing price for natural gas was down 15 cents at $2.82 per mmBtu on the Nymex.

Enrollment in the ONG fixed-price plan is open to residential and small commercial customers who use 150 dekatherms or less annually.

Sign-up is open through Oct. 23.

Customers can enroll by calling (800) 208-7257 or online at tulsaworld.com/ong .

The utility will send more information and enrollment forms with September bills.

ONG is a unit of Tulsa-based ONEOK Inc.

Rod Walton 581-8457

Originally published by ROD WALTON World Staff Writer.

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