OHIO

OHIO

Dominion customers will now be assigned suppliers

COLUMBUS — The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has adopted a proposal that would assign suppliers to customers who buy their natural gas through Dominion East Ohio.

A supplier’s name will be listed on the bill for these customers for the first time. The bills now list Dominion as the supplier. The rate for these customers will be set at an auction that Dominion will hold this summer. The rate will be in effect from Sept. 1 through March 31. Another auction will be held to determine rates for the following 12 months. These customers now pay a rate that changes monthly based on market prices.

Customers will continue to have the options of buying gas through third-party suppliers or joining aggregation groups. About one-third of Dominion customers buy their gas through the utility.

NATION

General Motors shares fall to a 52-week low

DETROIT — General Motors Corp. shares fell to a 52-week low Wednesday after a Deutsche Bank analyst lowered his sales forecast through 2010 and said the automaker will need further restructuring as customers continue to abandon its trucks and sport utility vehicles in favor of smaller cars.

GM shares fell nearly 7 percent to a 52-week low of $14.75 per share in morning trading before rallying to $14.89 in the early afternoon. The previous 52-week low was $15.50 per share.

Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache said in a note to investors that GM’s U.S. market share is rapidly deteriorating and he predicts GM will need further restructuring and an infusion of cash in order to fund a turnaround. GM controlled 21 percent of the U.S. market in the first five months of this year, down from 23 percent in the same period last year.

From Vindicator staff and wire reports