Dominion hearing set on billing
Part of the proposal is a revised billing rate for the customers.
YOUNGSTOWN — Dominion East Ohio is proposing changes to how it bills customers who buy natural gas from the utility and to its rate surcharge.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio will accept public comments on the proposal at a hearing at 6 p.m. April 1 in the Youngstown City Council Chambers at city hall, 26 S. Phelps St.
Dominion wants to align its customers with a particular supplier, which would be listed on the customer’s bill. The bills now list the supplier as Dominion, which actually provides customers with gas it buys from other companies.
The change would affect about one-third of the Cleveland-based utility’s customers, or about 400,000 customers. The rest of its customers choose their own suppliers through Dominion’s Energy Choice program, which is not involved in the change.
The change would take effect in September, if it is approved by the PUCO.
Part of the proposal is a revised billing rate for the customers. Now, the rates — called a Standard Service Offer — are determined by the market price of the gas, plus a surcharge of $1.44 per thousand cubic feet.
The proposal calls for a new surcharge amount.An auction would be no later than July 25 and suppliers would bid on how much of a fee they would charge to provide gas to Dominion customers. The surcharge would stay in place until March 31, 2010, when Dominion would start having annual auctions.
The process is similar to what customers are using now under a two-year pilot program approved by the PUCO in 2006. The $1.44 surcharge was set after an auction in 2006. It goes to the gas suppliers.
The surcharges set at auction do not apply to Energy Choice customers, who contract with suppliers to receive gas at either fixed or variable rates.
By state law, Dominion is allowed to make profits on the distribution of gas, not on its sale.