AGE has informed several area communities, including Bellefontaine, that they will be unable to restart their natural gas aggregation programs for the winter of 2024-2025.
The communities also include Ansonia, Bradford, Covington, Fort Loramie, Greenville, Jeffersonville, Newberry Township (unincorporated areas), Russia, Sidney and West Milton.
The previous gas aggregations for these communities ended on Sept. 30, 2024. Constellation served the contracts previously, but had since informed AGE they are currently not signing or renewing any natural gas aggregation contracts within Ohio.
Other suppliers who have previously participated in bids for this group of communities were working to provide a new contract to the communities, but ultimately a PUCO decision last week to approve an increase in rates requested by CenterPoint has eliminated the desire for any suppliers to offer an aggregation program for the group that includes service beginning this winter.
“It has been a series of untimely events, at no fault to any of our communities, that have led us to not being able to offer a natural gas aggregation program this winter,” said Jordan Haarmann, AGE’s director of procurement & business development.
Residents previously participating in the communities’ natural gas aggregation programs were dropped by Constellation at the end of September and assigned to a supplier through the Standard Choice Offer (SCO).
Residents have two options for their natural gas supply for this winter:
• Remain a supply customer through the Standard Choice Offer. The SCO is a monthly variable rate and represents costs associated with securing natural gas for CenterPoint Energy customers. Customers remaining on the SCO rate will be assigned to one of three suppliers: AEP Energy, Direct Energy Services, LLC, or Spire Marketing, Inc. The SCO rate for December is set at $0.4971 per ccf and in November it was $0.381 per ccf.
• Customers can compare fixed rate offers available to individual households through the PUCO’s Apples to Apples website: https://www.energychoice.ohio.gov. AGE cautions residents to be thorough in understanding the fees, rate structure, and term of any individual agreement a resident enters a contract for.
AGE is planning to reopen the bidding process for the communities’ natural gas aggregation programs in the Spring of 2025 and is confident a new agreement will be in place by the winter of 2025-26. For questions, contact AGE directly at (618) 203-8328.