Arkansas Oklahoma Gas, a company with about 12,000 customers in eastern Oklahoma has filed a Corporation Commission request to continue with programs aimed at customer retention, including service line improvements, a weatherization program and an equipment rebate program.
AOG’s Oklahoma customers are in communities and rural areas of Sequoyah, Latimer, LeFlore, Haskell and Delaware Counties. The company is headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas. As the filing (2026-000052) explained, the latest request is a continuation of the firm’s customer retention program that was initially approved by Oklahoma regulators in July 2013.
AOG Manager of Energy Efficiency – Regulatory Finance. Scott Gentry explained in filed testimony the 2013 initiative resulted when the firm took steps to reduce the loss of customers.
“From 2007 – 2015, AOG’s residential customer count decreased by an average annual percentage rate of 1.37%. Since 2016, the decrease has slowed to an average annual percentage rate of 0.78%.”
He testified the company initially called it a customer retention program but renamed it the Energy Efficiency Customer Retention Program.
“The programs were well-received among participants, and AOG anticipates this high level of customer satisfaction will help drive future participation via word-of-mouth advertising.”
Since 2013, AOG has returned to the Corporation Commission for approval of extensions of the program and the latest request is for continuation from 2027 through 2029. The filing indicated AOG does not seek any change to the cost recovery mechanism and no change in the company tariff nor of its rates.
AOG has a proposed budget of $200,000 a year or $600,000 for the three-year request. Gentry stated it represents a slight decrease of 4.8% from the company’s last program cycle and results in a customer impact of $1.57 per month.
The company pointed out its service line replacement program enhances customer retention by reducing repair costs to customers. Its Oklahoma Weatherization Program targets severely energy inefficient homes to improve comfort and reduce energy costs by addressing deficiencies in attack insulation and reducing air infiltration. The Equipment Rebate Program provides rebates to residential and small business customers through the installation of high efficiency natural gas furnaces and water heaters and small thermostats for new and existing homes and businesses.
