Topeka — A group of large industrial natural gas users asked state regulators Tuesday to ignore the Legislature's wishes in deciding how $37 million from a legal settlement is spent.
The settlement resulted from a 1997 order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC ruled that pipeline companies had overcharged their customers in the 1980s.
Both legislative houses adopted resolutions directing the Kansas Corporation Commission to use the money to help consumers with high heating bills. Natural gas costs peaked in early January, causing bills to double and even triple.
But C. Edward Peterson, an attorney for the Midwest Gas Users Association, the group of large industrial users, said the KCC should ignore the legislative resolutions. He said lawmakers don't have the authority to tell the KCC what to do.
"The refunds need to go back to the people who paid," Peterson told commission members.
The KCC opened hearings on the settlement funds, and its proceedings could continue Wednesday. KCC Spokeswoman Rosemary Foreman said the commission could issue an order within a week.
In its ruling four years ago, FERC ordered refunds for property taxes paid on natural gas produced in Kansas during the 1980s. The taxes were added to gas bills and passed on to consumers in Kansas and other states.
At the time, state officials opposed the refunds, saying it will be virtually impossible to identify affected consumers.
This year, when lawmakers adopted their resolution directing the KCC to set aside the money to help consumers pay their heating bills, they said they were counting on public pressure to prevent large industrial gas users from claiming a share of the funds.
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