All that’s needed is approval from regulators and Summit Utilities, parent of Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp. will be the new owner of CenterPoint Energy’s natural gas operations in Oklahoma and Arkansas in a $2.1 billion deal.
CenterPoint serves more than 7 million customers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas.
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.
“In 2017, Summit expanded its footprint to Arkansas and Oklahoma with our acquisition of Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corporation,” said Summit Utilities President and CEO Kurt Adams. “We couldn’t be more excited to announce our plans to serve more communities in these two great states with the acquisition of CenterPoint’s Arkansas and Oklahoma gas distribution systems.”
The purchase of CenterPoint’s operations includes 470 employees, 425,000 customers and 14,000 miles of pipeline in Arkansas.
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 Public Service Commission of Arkansas and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.