EAST OHIO GAS New supplier means new fee

The state allows utilities to tack on an extra fee for 12 months.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
Dominion East Ohio Gas customers may be saving little, if anything, for the first year if they leave their utility for another supplier of natural gas.
The savings will come later.
The potential delay in savings results from the unrecovered gas cost fee that utilities are allowed to charge customers who switch to a supplier. The fee goes away after one year.
The fee is now at $1.55 per thousand cubic feet of gas for East Ohio customers.
Neil Durbin, a spokesman for East Ohio, said the fee has always been part of the state's energy choice program and been paid by all customers who have switched suppliers. When East Ohio first allowed customers to choose other suppliers in 2000, however, the fee was only 39 cents per thousand cubic feet.
Fee covers cost of gas
The fee covers the cost of gas that a utility buys and stores on the assumption that it will have a certain number of customers in the coming year. If a customer leaves for another supplier, the state has determined that the customer still must pay for that gas that was bought.
The fee protects customers who remain with the utility from having to pay for all of the gas, said Mary Hansen, a Columbia Gas spokeswoman.
At 24 cents per thousand cubic feet, Columbia's fee is much lower than East Ohio's.
Adjusted every three months
The fee is adjusted every three months. East Ohio's current amount, which is down from $1.89, runs until the end of January.
The amount last year dropped below zero, which meant it became a credit on customer bills instead of a charge, Durbin said. The fee dropped because natural gas prices fell unexpectedly after a large increase in prices the year before, he said.
The current, larger fee can eat up savings offered by switching suppliers.
For a thousand cubic feet of gas, suppliers in the East Ohio territory are offering fixed rates of between $6.99 and $7.99, although rates that vary monthly can be less. East Ohio's regulated rate is set at $8 through January. Taxes and delivery charges are extra.
Durbin said customers looking at the short-term may not want to switch, but those looking at long-term savings will want to consider switching because the unrecovered gas fee lapses after one year.
Advice
East Ohio advises customers to consider switching because it makes money from the transportation of gas, not the sale. It charges a transportation fee to customers of other suppliers.
Customers can elect to go back to a utility after their contract with a supplier ends. If they leave the utility a second time, they have to pay the unrecovered gas cost fee for another year, unless they stay with the utility 60 days or less.
About 700,000 of East Ohio's 1.2 million customers have switched. About 600,000 of Columbia's 1.3 million customers have switched.
A list of suppliers and a comparison of their rates is available on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's Web site at www.puc.state.oh.us or by calling (800) 299-7271.
shilling@vindy.com