Summit Utilities, Inc., of Centennial, Colo., has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Arkansas and Oklahoma gas distribution assets of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. for $2.15 billion in cash.
CenterPoint’s Arkansas and Oklahoma gas distribution systems serve approximately 525,000 customers and include 17,000 miles of gas main pipeline across Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texarkana, Texas.
CenterPoint served almost 100,000 residential, commercial, industrial and transportation customers in western and southeastern Oklahoma as of Dec. 31, 2020.
Cities and towns in southwest Oklahoma that are supplied with natural gas by CenterPoint include Altus, Apache, Blair, Burns Flat, Chickasha, Comanche, Duncan, Elgin, Fletcher, Lawton, Mangum, Marlow, Olustee, Sterling and Temple.
CenterPoint President and CEO Dave Lesar said in a news release that the deal will allow the Houston company to eliminate $425 million in winter storm-related incremental natural gas costs in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Summit expanded its footprint to Arkansas and Oklahoma in 2017 with its acquisition of Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp. of Fort Smith, Ark. ” Now the company plans to acquire CenterPoint’s Arkansas and Oklahoma gas distribution systems, said Summit Utilities President and CEO Kurt Adams.
Expanding its service territories in Arkansas and Oklahoma will provide Summit with additional scale and capacity to further its mission of providing service to natural gas customers in the region. Integration of CenterPoint’s Arkansas and Oklahoma operations into Summit’s will benefit from the alignment of cultures between these two organizations, “which are based on core values of customer service and a commitment to the communities they serve,” Adams said.
The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including Hart-Scott Rodino antitrust clearance and approval by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the Public Service Commission of Arkansas.
Privately held Summit Utilities, Inc., owns natural gas distribution and transmission subsidiaries that operate in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The company provides natural gas to businesses and residents in the five states through Colorado Natural Gas, Summit Natural Gas of Missouri, Inc., Summit Natural Gas of Maine, Inc. and Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corporation.
Overall, Summit entities serve approximately 100,000 customers and operate more than 5,400 miles of pipeline in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Missouri and Oklahoma.
CenterPoint has about 7 million metered customers in Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.