Austintown offers natural-gas group rate

STAFF REPORT

AUSTINTOWN — Township officials have established a one-year fixed rate of $6.94 per mcf for natural gas.

Residents in the township’s natural-gas program supplied by Vectren Source will pay the new rate for all gas consumed from October 2009 to September 2010.

Administrator Michael Dockry said residents and businesses in the program do not need to take any action and will automatically receive this rate.

“We’ve been watching the wholesale natural-gas market very closely and are pleased that we were able to lock-in such a low rate,” Trustee Lisa Oles said in a new release sent to the media Thursday.

This will be Austintown’s second year of a two-year agreement with Vectren Source, and Trustee Bo Pritchard said in the news release that this year’s rate is considerably lower than last year’s.

“Each year when we set a rate, it is lower than comparable rates residents can find on their own,” he said. “That shows the bargaining power of our group.”

Residents who are served by another supplier may seek enrollment in the township’s aggregation program by calling Vectren Source at (866) 224-7163.