Southern Star's 2013 Summer Newsletter "Between the Lines"

SPRING 2013
Dear Friends:
Spring has finally arrived, but only after a long winter --
Punxsutawney Phil clearly missed his prediction! Through
March 31, our measure of winter, Heating Degree Days (HDD),
was significantly higher than last year. In fact, it was greater
than the three-year average and
was more on par with the 30-year
average. The long stretches of cold
weather gave everyone operational
challenges, but Southern Star is
proud to say we operated safely and
reliably to meet all your customer
service requirements with no service
interruptions.
Bob Bahnick,
Southern Star VP and
Chief Operations Officer
Weather Brings Challenges
Unfortunately, with the change
in season, we now have another
weather challenge in the Midwest. As
I write this, we remember the tragic
events of May 20 in Moore, OK, where a tornado destroyed lives
and property. Our heartfelt prayers go to the families of those
impacted by these storms. At Southern Star, our 16” line at the
Canadian River bridge crossing was damaged. We have restored
service to most customers as we begin the long-term solution of
designing a new river crossing.
Please see below for more information on other projects and
customer meetings we have coming up in 2013. The rest of the
newsletter is filled with useful stories and information about
Southern Star as well -- enjoy!
Our success depends upon our ability to provide you safe,
reliable and efficient natural gas transportation and storage
services. We appreciate your business and look forward to
working with you this year.
Sincerely,
Between
the Lines
Southern Star is focused on providing safe, reliable, efficient
and compliant operations to meet your needs with exceptional
Customer Service. In fact, the work we are beginning now is the
first step to being prepared for next winter.
2013 Projects
We have several continuing projects this year to
install compressor automation, replace engine
foundations, replace river crossings, recoat the
pipeline and investigate and remediate anomalies
found through our pipeline integrity program.
Some of these projects may impact gas flow to your
facilities.
Projects Highlight 2013
Communicating with You
For seamless execution of our plans, including minimum impact
to you, it is critical that we have good communications with our
customers. One way we do this is through our Planned Service
“For seamless
execution of our
plans, it is critical
that we have good
communications
with our
customers.”
Outage (PSO) report distributed to our customers and located
on our Informational Postings web site, csi.sscgp.com, and our
customer portal at portal.sscgp.com. Please make sure you stay
up-to-date with this important resource. You can find even more
ways to stay connected in the StarLinks section of the newsletter.
Regional Customer Meetings
Another way Operations is improving
communications is our Regional Operations
Customer Meetings. During the Fall 2012
Operations Summit at the Kansas City Customer
Meeting, you let us know that future Operations
Summits would be more effective if they were
more regionally-focused. This was a good
suggestion, so we’re planning that way this year.
Our five Regional Managers are now coordinating these meetings
with Customer Service, so look for an invitation coming your way!
INSIDE:
- Grace Under Pressure - StarLight: Denis Chege - Alva Ag Safety Day
- Mastio Survey Results - Customer Care Teams - StarLink: Stay Connected

BETWEEN THE LINES l SPRING 2013 l PAGE 2
A pipe replacement on the Southern Star system is usually
an intricate operation arranged months in advance, with
coordination among multiple parties. Turns out the company is
pretty good at doing it on just a few days’ notice as well.
Grace Under Pressure
The replacement was planned for
Friday, April 5, just one week after
the initial call came in.
On March 29, a call came in about the smell of odorant near
an 8” line that runs along the underside of the Bonner Springs
Bridge that spans the Kansas River near Kansas City.
A crew confirmed the leak and immediately put in an emergency
One-Call to mark lines around the area so they could dig for
repairs. Team Lead Matt Davids wanted to fix the leak quickly and
safely. “We needed to move,” he said.
Thanks to extraordinary cooperation among the Compliance,
Engineering, Land, Gas Control and Environmental and Safety
departments, Davids quickly developed a project plan. Employees
from Tonganoxie, Ottawa and Wichita also came to help.
Davids coordinated with Atmos Energy (the customer affected
by the leak) to make sure they received their gas even with the
reduced pressure necessary to maintain the line’s integrity. He
also briefed the entire team ahead of time so each individual
knew precisely where they would be stationed and what their
responsibilities would be during the procedure.
That Friday afternoon, the line
was closed off and blown down.
The old pipe was then cut out
and the new pipe was installed,
with gas flowing again at normal
operating pressure by the end of
the afternoon.
The experience was educational
as it strengthened cooperation
among teams and highlighted
the ability to work with urgency,
“Everyone involved made this
The section of pipe that was
replaced.
repair happen within a short time,” said Rob Carlton, VP and
Chief Compliance Officer. “It was an exceptional response.”
“This is a prime example of a company which has a relentless
focus on Safety, Reliability, and Compliance, with an eye toward
‘Zero’ in all it does,” Carlton added. “This is exactly the behavior
we want everyone to exhibit in balancing all the issues.”
Southern Star is movin’ on up. In the 2013 Mastio Natural
Gas Pipeline Customer Value and Loyalty Study, Southern
Star ranked number two in the Customer Satisfaction Index
for the Major Pipeline Category (pipelines with at least 3,500
miles of transportation pipe serving at least three states), an
improvement from third place in 2012.
“Southern Star is focused on providing ‘Customer Service With
a Passion,’ and that is what continually keeps us in the top tier,”
said Philip Rullman, VP and Chief Commercial Services Officer.
“This survey provides a report that specifically
identifies our strengths and areas of improvement.”
Study Details
Mastio published the 17th edition of the annual
pipeline study in February 2013. The study identifies
and quantifies the perceptions and needs of natural
gas pipeline customers. The 2013 study findings were based on
interviews with 1,070 customers who provided approximately
2,600 total observations. There were 150 pipelines rated, of
which 47 had a sufficient number of ratings to be included in the
2013 report.
The 2013 study also includes approximately 10,000 qualitative
responses to nine open-ended questions about individual
pipelines. The data was collected by telephone interviews with
key decision makers during late 2012 and early 2013.
Mastio Survey Results
“We’ve made
huge strides in
creating a
service culture.”
Focused on Customer Service
“Wherever you look, employees with Southern Star are very
focused on customer service,” said Debbie Hendrix, Manager,
Customer Service, specifically mentioning good cooperation
between field and office employees. “I would like to thank
everyone. I feel like every employee of Southern Star is in
customer service,” she said. “We’ve made huge strides in
creating a service culture.”
For the study, pipeline companies were divided into four
categories: Mega, Major, Regional and Major
Organizational Groups. The top three needs
that customers ranked were reliable firm gas
transportation, accurate scheduled gas volumes and
accurate invoices.
“Southern Star is a customer service-focused
organization and I appreciate the efforts that are made to keep
us at these levels,” Rullman said. “The challenge is defining
what is necessary to achieve the next improvement area and
implement it.”

BETWEEN THE LINES l SPRING 2013 l PAGE 3
StarLight: Denis Chege
StarLight is a profile series to help you get to know Southern
Star employees better. This edition features Denis Chege,
Central Region Manager. Denis is based in Wichita, KS, and
oversees the area that includes Wichita, Hesston and Lyons, KS.
Q: Where were you born and where did you go to college
A: I was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and earned an Engineering
degree from Egerton University in Njoro, Kenya.
Q: Tell us about your family.
A: My wife Grace is an R.N. and is also from Kenya. She is in the
process of acquiring U.S. citizenship. We have two daughters,
Mary and Macy, who share the same birthday!
Q: Why did you decide to move to the U.S. and become a citizen
A: Much of it was due to luck of the draw -- we won the green
card lottery. I came in November 2004 through Chicago. There
was snow on the ground and the first shock I had was that it was
colder than being inside a refrigerator -- I got out of the plane
and went right back in! Our daughter Mary is a natural born
U.S. citizen, which was the overriding factor in my decision to
become a citizen. It has been a learning experience from culture,
shopping, driving on “other side” of the road … you name it, it is
different!
Q: What are your interests and hobbies outside of work
A: Traveling, learning and discovering new things.
Q: What do you like the most about your job
A: I like to see people develop and excel in what they do.
Mentoring is huge for me.
Q: Who or what inspires you and why
A: My dad. Although no longer with us, he instilled values in me
and made me who I am today. My family inspires me too!
Q: What is one thing most people do not know about you
A: That I built my first snow man three years ago. (Easy to explain
this one… no snow in Nairobi!)
Q: How would you describe yourself in three words
A: I enjoy family.
Q: What is your favorite movie and favorite actor
A: Movie - Men of Honor. Actor - Clint Eastwood and Sally Field.
Q: What is your favorite food, and is Pepsi or Coke better
A: Tilapia, and neither -- unsweeted iced tea with lemon does the
trick.
Q: Have you ever visited a foreign country If so, which one
A: Besides being born in Kenya, visited neighboring Tanzania,
Uganda, Somalia, Sudan, South Africa, UAE (Dubai, Sharjah &
Abu Dhabi), UK and Netherlands – should I count the U.S.
Q: Who is your hero
A: Our men & women in uniform. Since I’ve seen what life looks
like in some of the places they go, their willingness to volunteer
and sometimes sacrifice their lives for the freedoms we enjoy in
the U.S. inspires me.
Q: Who did you want to be when you were a kid and why
A: An engineer – there wasn’t one in the family, although we had
almost every other profession!
Customer Care Teams
In an effort to serve customers better, Southern Star has
developed Customer Care Teams to improve internal and
external communication. Your point of contact with Southern Star
will be your Customer Care Team, which is made up of three
Southern Star employees -- a customer service representative, an
invoicing representative and a scheduling/contracts
representative.
The teams are another way to let you know that someone from
Southern Star is always available whenever you need us.
To find out which Customer Care Team has been assigned to you,
call one of our customer service employees, who will be glad to
serve you:
[Region Manager]
Left: Denis, Mary and Grace Chege at kindergarten
graduation. Right: Macy Chege.
Debbie
Hendrix
Manager,
Customer
Service
270-852-4571
Robin
Joska
Customer
Service
Rep
270-852-4565
David
Tipmore
Customer
Service
Rep
270-852-4563
“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” -- Max DePree
Scott
Warren
Customer
Service
Rep
270-852-4559

BETWEEN THE LINES l SPRING 2013 l PAGE 4
Ag Safety Day at Alva
The vision of the Progressive Agriculture
Foundation is that no child would become
ill, be injured or die from farm, ranch and
rural activities. To accomplish this goal,
the Foundation provides education and
training to make farm, ranch and rural
life safer and healthier for children and
their communities. One way they do this is
by holding Progressive Agriculture
Safety Days all across the country.
One of the topics covered at these
workshops includes “Underground
Utilities Safety,” so for the last couple
of years, Derek Jewell, Southern Star
Team Lead at Alva, Oklahoma, has
presented on pipeline safety at the
Alva Progressive Agriculture Safety Day
held at the Woods County Fairgrounds.
The most recent event was on
Wednesday, May 8, when about 140 kids
from various towns in Woods
County attended the event. “A lot of the
kids remembered our presentation and
even our conversations from last year,”
Jewell said. “This is something that does
make a difference.”
Each year, Progressive Agriculture Safety
Days reach more than 95,000 children
and adults. The days are designed to be
fun as well as educational as they teach
kids safety and health lessons for farms,
ranches and homes.
Our goal is to stay connected to you! We want to provide access
to the information you need in the easiest way possible. Whether
you’re at your desk or in the field, here’s how to stay linked to
Southern Star:
Between the Lines -- A quarterly newsletter keeping you up-todate
on the latest Southern Star happenings.
StarLinks
Daily Activity Report - A daily email overview of current system
information. It’s a great way to stay connected -- sign up on the
portal!
Corporate Website -- www.sscgp.com. Keep up with news and
information from Southern Star.
Customer Service Portal - portal.sscgp.com. Find all the info
you need to know, with access to our Informational Postings and
Customer Activities web sites at csi.sscgp.com. Also optimized for
mobile devices so you can view on the run.
Southern Star is conducting
an 811 Run on Saturday,
August 10 in Kansas City. It
will be sponsored by several
companies in order to
promote 811 Day. Southern
Star is also participating in
a collaborative nationwide
media effort on August 11
that will reach ALL markets
in the country with the
811 message on radio and
television.
Call 811
We are also awarding
Southern Star’s first
National Safe Digging Month
Scholarship next month for a
winning essay submitted by a
high school senior. Watch for
the contest again next year!
Call our Public Awareness
Department at 1-888-
885-6008 or email us at
PublicAwareness@sscgp.com
if you need anything!
Subscribe to the Daily Operations Overview email on the portal!
Contact List - On the portal, download a list of Southern Star field
personnel arranged by region so you’ll have our contact info at
your fingertips.
Call - Customer Service: 888-816-3558
Southern Star Central
Gas Pipeline
Vision
To be the Best Pipeline in
North America
Mission
• Operate safely, reliably and
efficiently
• Provide exceptional
customer service
• Maximize shareholder value
• Ensure workforce excellence
Phone Numbers
Emergency Phone Number
800-324-9696
Customer Service
888-816-3558
CSI Help Desk
270-852-5123
Contact us at 888-816-3558
or Ben.Hoak@sscgp.com with
any questions, comments or
feedback.