Taking the boiled bunny-stance of jilted lovers, Oklahoma Natural Gas—ONG, if you will—wants to inflict financial harm on you and your loved ones to the tune of an oddly specific $687.50 if you decide to break up with them.
According to a recent article in The Oklahoman, people who decide to switch from natural gas to, say, modern and efficient electric heating, will be billed with final retribution and extreme prejudice by ONG and, more than likely, receive numerous threatening phone calls when it can’t be paid on time. Yikes!
From the Oklahoman:
According to the plan, ONG would pay its immediate debt by issuing bonds to investors. Customers would be on the hook to gradually repay those bonds over the next 25 years. To make the investment more attractive, the plan's designers created an "exit fee" to ensure the entire amount due would be paid, even if a customer switches their home's fuel source.
Well, I guess that I’m glad I currently rent an “all bills paid” place...for now!
What really gets me about this though is the fact that, year after year, utility companies post more shareholder profits, something that everyday customers like you will not only never see, but instead have to deal with things like price hikes in the upcoming months.