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Columbia Gas Asks Ohio to Approve Record Rate

Posted on: Friday, 16 September 2005, 21:00 CDT

Sep. 16--Columbia Gas of Ohio has proposed a record rate of $1.32 per 100 cubic feet of gas in October, which is 45 percent higher than a year ago and double what it was three years ago.

The primary natural-gas utility for metro Toledo and other parts of northwest Ohio filed the rate request this week with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The regulator will review it, but typically the requests are approved.

If approved, the rate will go into effect for the October billing cycle, which starts Sept. 28. A year ago, the company charged 91 cents in October.

An average bill in October is expected to be $53.23, up from $33.90 this month when usage typically is less, Columbia Gas said. The proposed average monthly bill for this year is almost $13 higher than a year ago's $40.30.

Prolonged heat this summer meant natural gas was being used more to run newer electric generating stations that power air conditioners. Plus, destruction of natural-gas wells and transport in the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina interrupted supplies. Experts said shortages this winter are not likely, but the lessened supply has prompted higher prices for the fuel.

"Any hopes that we might have been holding onto for price moderation were probably dashed because of Hurricane Katrina's destruction in the Gulf of Mexico," said Ray Frank of Columbia Gas.

Under the state's customer choice program, area residents can select other natural-gas suppliers, although most independents also have raised prices. One that has a lower rate than the proposed Columbia Gas figure is Dominion East Ohio Energy, of Richmond, Va., at $1.27 per 100 cubic feet.

That rate, said spokesman Dan Donovan, is available through the end of September, and a customer must agree to a two-year contract.

"Generally we've been finding that customers right now in these troubled times … are looking for stability," he said.

The U.S. Department of Energy warned last week that natural-gas users in some parts of the country could find prices increase 71 percent over last winter's rates, largely because of the hurricane's disruption in oil and natural gas supplies.

Columbia Gas has added cost pressures, however, because it buys as much as 35 percent of its supply on the spot market, a high amount for most area natural-gas utilities and an approach that makes it more likely to have to raises its customers rates more frequently.

State regulators, who by law must allow Columbia Gas to pass on its fuel-cost increases, will monitor the marketplace for the next two weeks to determine whether the utility should charge its requested rate. But the agency said this year it has taken no action to try to get Columbia Gas to boost its storage capacity.

Ryan Lippe, a spokesman for the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, said the rate request by Columbia Gas is "not good news for consumers," but is not surprising.

Mr. Frank urged people to contact Columbia Gas if they have problems paying high heating bills. One option is to spread out the costs over a year, asking the company to put them on a monthly budget plan.

To find what other providers are offering natural gas and what their prices are, go to the PUCO Web site, at www.pickocc.org, or call 1-877-742-5622 and ask for a Gas Choice 101 pamphlet.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

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NI,

Source: The Blade

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