2 utilities raise rates less than expected

Dominion's new rate is 46 percent higher than last January, officials said.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Natural gas prices are going up again, but the increases are not as much as first announced last week.
Dominion East Ohio Gas said Thursday it is raising its rate for people who buy gas from the utility by 26 cents to $13.28 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Last week, Dominion said it was raising the price for gas used in January to $14.88 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Columbia Gas of Ohio is raising the price for January gas deliveries by 74 cents to $13.61 per 1,000 cubic feet. It originally planned to increase its rate to $15.68.
The utilities asked state regulators for permission to lower last week's rate requests, however, because of a rapid drop in natural gas prices. As weather warmed up recently, the price of natural gas futures dropped 23 percent in just three days.
Natural gas futures slid about 41 cents Thursday to settle at $11.22 per 1,000 cubic feet. Natural gas briefly topped $15 earlier this month.
Way up from January '05
Despite the scaled-back increases, prices still are much higher than they were a year ago because the utilities have been raising prices monthly.
Dominion said its revised rate is $4.20, or 46 percent, higher than its charge of $9.08 per 1,000 cubic feet in January 2005.
The utility said the revised rate will increase the average residential customer's bill for January to $322, an increase of $90 over January 2005. Last week's rate would have increased the bill to $355.
Dominion said gas prices are remaining high because of a tight balance between supply and demand and the effects of lost production from the hurricanes that struck the Gulf of Mexico.
The prices announced by Dominion and Columbia are their gas cost recovery rates, which make up the majority of a customer's bill. This charge covers the cost that the utilities pay to buy gas and is passed along to customers without profit. The rest of the bill includes the cost of delivering the gas.
Customers also can opt to buy gas from a marketer. Those rates vary based on whether a customer selects a fixed or variable rate.
shilling@vindy.com