MAHONING VALLEY Dominion, Columbia to lower rates until Feb.

Wholesale prices for natural has have risen 50 percent since last winter.
Natural gas companies serving the Mahoning and Shenango valleys intend to lower rates for November through January.
Most of the utilities serving the area filed rate requests this week with state public utilities commissions. Ohio companies said that though the new rates would be lower than current rates, they would be higher than customers paid at the start of last winter.
Dominion East Ohio is seeking a rate of $8 per thousand cubic feet, compared with the current rate of $8.58. At the start of last winter, Dominion customers were paying $5.03.
Columbia Gas of Ohio is requesting a new rate of $6.90 per thousand cubic feet, compared with a current rate of $7.23. At the start of last winter, Columbia customers were paying $6.54.
These rates are paid by customers who have not elected to be in the companies' customer choice programs.
In Pennsylvania, Dominion Peoples cut rates so that the average residential customer using 104,000 cubic feet of gas per year will now be paying $96.88 per month instead of $98.42 per month.
The average residential customer of Columbia, using 120,000 cubic feet of as per year, will see their monthly rates drop from $117.42 to $102.
Wholesale prices up
Dominion said wholesale prices for natural gas are 50 percent higher than they were a year ago and are expected to remain high.
Prices could increase dramatically if this winter is colder than normal, the company said.
A cold winter last year caused supplies to be depleted, Dominion said. Prices rose later in the year as companies replenished their storage supplies and production declined.
The company said production is increasing, but the market will not be affected by increased supplies until sometime next year.
SHARON, Pa. -- Customers of Dominion Peoples and Columbia Gas companies in Mercer and Lawrence counties saw their gas bills drop slightly as of Wednesday.
Both companies filed rate reduction requests with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission reflecting a lower cost for the gas they buy to keep their customers supplied.
Utility companies aren't allowed to make any profit on that gas but can pass the expense directly on to the consumer. The PUC allows them to adjust their gas cost rates every four months and Dominion and Columbia had their chance Wednesday.
Both reduced their rates.
Columbia has 22,000 customers in Lawrence County.
Most Mercer County households are customers of National Fuel Gas, which is on a different adjustment schedule than Dominion and Columbia.