Tribune Chronicle
Thanks to a mild winter and rising natural gas production, the average monthly bill for some Dominion East Ohio consumers will drop $37.10, or nearly 30 percent, on March 13 from the previous year to $89.07, the utility company said Wednesday.
In addition, customers will save about $3.33 a month starting in April due to a decline in the retail price adjustment part of their bill to 60 cents from $1, the company said.
The decrease, based on average usage of 99.1 mcf a month, stems from the Feb. 28 auction involving 16 gas suppliers. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio gave its approval Wednesday after nine rounds of bidding.
Suppliers competed to provide natural gas to about 180,000 customers in East Ohio's Standard Choice Offer program and 140,000 in its Standard Service Offer program. The utility has about 1.2 million total customers.
Customers who buy gas from another supplier under Energy Choice or participate in a government program will continue to receive gas under the prices and terms of their contract, East Ohio said.
Customers assigned to a supplier under the standard choice program are free to enroll any time with a different Energy Choice supplier or join a government program, the utility said.