Southern Star has clarified some misinformation regarding rates at which gas was being purchased for the City of Altamont.  Their statement can be seen below.

“In oversimplified terms, this is a supply and demand issue within the natural gas supply market. The supply market is not only having unprecedented demand given the sustained cold weather but also is suffering from freeze-offs at the production wellheads, all of which exacerbates the supply/demand imbalance causing price spikes from sellers of natural gas.

However, Southern Star is solely a transporter of natural gas. To clarify, our company does not sell natural gas itself.  Unlike rates for natural gas supply which are set by the market, our rates for transportation and storage services are established and capped by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Southern Star holds several transportation and storage contracts with companies like Kansas Municipal Gas Agency, which is the contract holder for the City of Altamont.”