ONG introduces renewable natural gas option
Dec. 19—Oklahoma Natural Gas announced a new energy option — renewable natural gas (RNG).
According to a release, RNG captures methane from organic materials like food waste and animal manure. The biomass is processed and turned into the kind of fuel that warms homes in the winter.
"Renewable natural gas is an innovation that is ready today, yielding benefits for the environment and everyday users of natural gas," said Erin Dailey, director of sustainability for ONG. "The voluntary program gives our customers a choice at an affordable price."
She said the gas will be delivered to customers using existing pipelines that deliver natural gas.
Chad Previch, public information officer for ONG, said RNG costs more per month because the gas itself costs more.
"Currently, RNG is more expensive than traditional natural gas due to the added costs of converting organic materials into pipeline-quality gas," he said. "Oklahoma Natural Gas does not profit from this program, just as we do not profit from the cost of traditional natural gas."
Gas is delivered in blocks, or the equivalent of one-quarter dekatherm.
"One dekatherm is how we measure a customer's traditional natural gas per/unit fuel cost," Previch said.
According to the release, Oklahoma Natural Gas customers can opt-in starting around $3 per block and purchase up to 40 blocks per month, and each block represents approximately 5% of the average residential customer's monthly usage.
"We surveyed our customers last year, which showed customers were interested in RNG even if it cost more than traditional natural gas. So we created the program in a way that was affordable for customers as an option," Previch said.
He said any RNG sent out to customers would be blended with traditional natural gas, and that customers won't be able to tell the difference between the two.
"RNG projects, through a network of farm-based anaerobic digesters, landfills and wastewater treatment facilities, capture methane from organic materials like food and animal waste, redirecting it away from the environment and removing harmful contaminants from the atmosphere," Previch said.
The process of capturing RNG is done by third parties that take manure to a digester on a farm. There, the digester processes the waste and collects gas.
"The gas is processed into pipeline-quality gas and injected into a pipeline system. Once the methane from the waste is processed, it's chemically identical to traditional natural gas, which is odorless," Previch said.
According to the release, the company will review the program's performance to gauge its long-term viability.
"By opting into the program, Oklahomans will help reduce emissions by replacing traditional natural gas supply with a renewable fuel source," Dailey said.
Every November, ONG will announce the price for a block for a 12-month period. This year, the price was set at $3.038.
Customers can sign up at any point within the year, but must commit to the program for 12-months. After the 12-month contract, customers will move to a month-to-month commitment.
For more information visit oklahomanaturalgas.com/rng.
Brian King covers education and politics for The Transcript. Reach him at bking@normantranscript.com.
