CLEVELAND, Ohio – As temperatures start to slide to the cooler winter climate, it’s a good time to review your gas bill to make sure you are heating your home as economically as possible.
Currently there are a lot of options out there to beat default pricing.
In Northeast Ohio, there are two services that deliver natural gas depending on where you live – Columbia Gas and Enbridge, which recently purchased Dominion Energy. But as for the natural gas itself, consumers have options.
The pricing starts with the Standard Choice Offer. If a homeowner doesn’t choose a natural gas source or isn’t part of a community aggregation service, Columbia Gas or Enbridge will provide the gas at this variable price, which could change monthly.
For those in the Columbia Gas service area, the rate until Oct. 27 is $0.4245 per hundred cubic feet. For those in Embridge, the SCO rate is $2.785 per thousand cubic feet until Nov. 7.
From there, what you choose to pay is based on your research. For many, NOPEC is the option that they go with, often by default. NOPEC is a government aggregator that goes to local communities to aggregate all eligible customers into the program.
Eligibility is determined if a homeowner does not have a specific choice made already, in which case they are enrolled into the Standard Price. For the Columbia Gas service area, that is $0.5150 per CCF, and for Embridge, $4.1500 per MCF for October, both of which are variable monthly prices.
Shopping and choosing a different supplier is made easy by the state’s Apples to Apples price-comparison website at energychoice.ohio.gov.
You just need to pay attention to the rate type and any terms and conditions that come in tow. For instance, many plans have fixed rates that lock you into multi-month or multi-year plans, some of which have early termination fees. And while they may be a good option right now, they may not be six months later.
With this in mind, we broke out the five most affordable fixed plans for suppliers available in the Enbridge and Columbia Gas service areas. Some prices beat the current Standard Choice Offer.
Here is the best pricing as of Monday, but prices are updated regularly.
It is also important to remember that this is not the final price that you will see on your utility bill. The price is determined by the delivery and service charges from your service area provider, and then the gas supplier will identify their rate, which can be used as a comparison point for the charts below.
We excluded plans that limit a consumer’s flexibility or have other caveats by way of introductory prices, termination fees, or promotional offers that are applied.
Enbridge Gas Ohio territory
No. 1 – Ohio Gas & Electric
Price ($/MCF): 3.1920
Term Length: 12 months
No. 2 – Energy Harbor LLC
Price ($/MCF): 3.2900
Term Length: 12 months
No. 3 – Ohio Gas & Electric
Price ($/MCF): 3.3500
Term Length: 15 months
No. 4 – Ohio Gas & Electric
Price ($/MCF): 3.3500
Term Length: 24 months
No. 5 – Energy Harbor LLC
Price ($/MCF): 3.4900
Term Length: 15 months
Columbia Gas of Ohio
No. 1 – Ohio Gas & Electric
Price ($/CCF): 0.4690
Term Length: 12 months
No. 2 – Mercury Energy Marketing LLC
Price ($/CCF): 0.4880
Term Length: 12 months
No. 3 – Ohio Gas & Electric
Price ($/CCF): 0.4890
Term Length: 12 months
No. 4 – Energy Harbor LLC
Price ($/CCF): 0.4890
Term Length: 12 months
No. 5 – Ohio Gas & Electric
Price ($/CCF): 0.4890
Term Length: 24 months
If you are interested in changing your supplier, PUCO recommends asking the following questions:
- Is the price fixed, or does it change?
- If it changes, how does it change?
- Does the price depend on how much I use or when I use electricity or natural gas?
- Will there be a switching fee?
- Is there a fee if I cancel the contract early?
- Is there a customer incentive for signing up?
- Are there any special add-on services?
- How long will the rate remain in effect?
- What happens when my contract expires?
- Are there any built-in price increases or decreases?
Zachary Smith is the data reporter for cleveland.com. You can reach him at [email protected].
