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January 9, 2001
Naperville, Ill. -- Nicor Gas announced today that the sign-up period has begun for the fourth year of Customer Select ®, the company's voluntary pilot program that offers customers a choice of natural gas suppliers. The program allows all businesses and more than 270,000 residential customers in 16 communities the opportunity to choose an alternate natural gas supplier.
"This fourth year of the Customer Select program will continue to help customers and natural gas suppliers alike learn more about the benefits and challenges that a deregulated market will bring," said George Behrens, vice president of Nicor Gas. "In light of today's rising natural gas costs, we feel our customers will want to take another look at this program. We continue to look forward to the future, when choice is available to all of our customers."
Natural gas costs are currently at record highs, and many sources, including the American Gas Association, predict costs will remain at very high levels for many months to come.
"Because participating suppliers aren't regulated, they're able to offer a variety of pricing and service options," continued Behrens. "These include offering natural gas at a fixed price, making it easier to budget, or offering incentives. We give our customers the chance to make the choice that's best for their personal or business situation."
Nicor Gas received unanimous approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission on November 1, 2000 to continue the Customer Select pilot program for a fourth year. That approval came a month after the Commission suspended Nicor Gas' request to open Customer Select to all customers – business and residential – in its service territory. With the program's suspension, the Commission also initiated hearings about the program, a process that could last until July of this year.
"We're very pleased with the Commission's approval so that these customers will have the opportunity to join and/or remain in the Customer Select program during the hearing process," continued Behrens. "With this transition program in place, we'll turn our attention to working with the Commission and other parties during the hearings to provide any necessary information about the program so that the option to choose an alternative supplier can be extended to all Nicor Gas customers."
Launched in January 1998, Customer Select is a program designed to give customers and suppliers an idea of how natural gas service under deregulation may function. Under the program, participants choose only their natural gas supplier. Nicor Gas continues to ensure safety, respond to service and emergency calls, deliver natural gas, read meters and maintain its pipeline system. Customer Select is a voluntary program. Customers who choose not to participate simply do nothing, and Nicor Gas will continue to purchase and deliver natural gas for these customers.
In 2001, all business customers, as well as residential customers in Addison, Bloomingdale, Bloomington, Bolingbrook, Carol Stream, Downers Grove, Glendale Heights, Glen Ellyn, Joliet, Lockport, Loves Park, Machesney Park, Normal, Rockford, Roscoe and Wheaton are eligible to join Customer Select. At the close of the last enrollment period, on March 31, 2000, more than 122,000 customers had selected alternate natural gas suppliers during the first three years of the program. This represented more than 22 percent of eligible residential customers and 37 percent of business customers, making Customer Select one of the largest of its kind in the Midwest.
Nicor Gas serves more than 1.9 million customers in a service territory that encompasses most of the northern third of Illinois, excluding the city of Chicago. Nicor (NYSE: GAS) is a holding company. Its principal businesses are Nicor Gas and Tropical Shipping, a containerized shipping business that operates between Florida and the Caribbean. Nicor also owns several energy-related subsidiaries and is a partner in Nicor Energy, a provider of unregulated energy products and services. For more information, visit the Nicor web site at www.nicor.com. |
