Natural-gas rates to drop in group-buying program

Staff report

struthers

Natural-gas rates for people in the city’s program for gas aggregation will go down this winter.

Last January, the rate was locked in at $6.54 per thousand cubic feet for people in the program. This January, the rate is locked in at $5.92 per thousand cubic feet. A 10-cent discount is available to homeowners 65 and older.

Residents in Struthers voted for an opt-out aggregation program in 2009.

In an aggregation program, customers in a municipality join to form a single, large customer to buy energy in volume.

Direct Energy’s program automatically includes residents unless they indicate they want to choose their own supplier.

People who are using another supplier can switch but should review their contracts to determine if they will be charged an early- cancellation fee, Thomas Bellish, president of Buckeye Energy Brokers, told the city in a letter this week.

For more information on the program, residents can call Direct Energy at 866-803-4618.