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Click Here To Participate In Our Lake Skiatook Natural Gas Survey
Lake Skiatook Natural Gas
Utility Project
Description Of Area
The Oklahoma area has an abundant supply of natural gas. Natural gas customers have traditionally been in and around large metropolitan areas. As the City of Tulsa grows, the population base is steadily moving outward. One such area is the area around Lake Skiatook in Osage County.
Skiatook Lake is located approximately five miles west of Skiatook, OK. Lake Skiatook has a surface area of 20,500 acres and is surrounded by many recreational areas
Gentle rolling hills of Blackjack and Post Oak mingle with tall grass Prairie to frame the picturesque lake. The meandering shoreline is graced by steep bluffs, which offer spectacular views for the recreation user. Boating, hiking, swimming, camping, picnicking as well as hunting and fishing, are all popular activities at the lake. This area has also attracted the attention of the residential market
.The project area has over 1200 homes at this time and is experiencing rapid growth with new subdivisions springing up rapidly. At the present time there are seven new subdivisions being developed
Osage county, as a whole, has been experiencing very moderate growth for the last several years as shown in the following table.
Growth Rates for Osage County
Osage County Population Growth:
Year 2000 – 44,437
Year 2003 – 45,249
Growth rate 1.8%
Osage County Employment Growth
Year 2000 – 1.1%
Year 2003 – (-3.1)%
In the project area growth has been more substantial. New subdivisions such as Cross Timbers, Catalina Bay, Beverly Hills 1 & 2, and Cross Oaks, just to name a few, are bringing homes to the residential market and opening up popular lake view lots. The area around these developments are also growing, a drive through of this area shows many new homes off the lake as well.
Employment growth has not kept up with the population growth. Cross Timbers is planning a new marina, restaurant, and golf course to compliment their aggressive residential development. We hope to positively affect the economy in this area with a natural gas distribution system.
The Rural water District 15 of Osage County provides water to this area, Verdigris Valley Electric provides Electric, and the other utility offered to date is propane from several local propane dealers. Wil-Corp, Inc. will offer natural gas to the residents of this area. The main customer base, we will target, is the present propane users. Propane has a history of price volatility ranging from $.80 per gallon in the summer too as high as $1.85 per gallon in the winter. An average household will use 1200 gallons per year with most of the gas purchased during the winter months. The average household propane bill will run $1500 to $2,220 per year. Propane has to be stored in tanks in the yard and purchased in advance of being used. Natural gas will be metered to homeowners and paid for after it is used, it will be paid for monthly, and the average homeowner will pay $1150 per year for natural gas. This is over a 20% saving to the homeowner, they do not have to worry about having to fill a tank, and the price will not vary from month to month.
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