Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

Natural gas auctions continue to yield lower rates for Dominion East Ohio, Columbia Gas of Ohio, and Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio customers.

The OCC offers tips on natural gas safety.

General Information

More than three million residential customer households receive natural gas from the four major investor-owned natural gas companies in Ohio, Dominion East Ohio Gas, Columbia Gas of Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, and Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio. Natural gas customers are billed for the actual product they use as well as for the delivery of the natural gas (e.g. the pipeline system, meters, billing system, etc.). The cost of natural gas accounts for about 65 percent of customers' monthly bills. Currently, due to the expansion of natural gas resources in Ohio and neighboring states, as well as unseasonably warm temperatures, the price of the commodity is at 10 to 15 year lows.

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) is committed to representing the interests of natural gas customers and working to keep natural gas prices as low as possible. During the past decade, natural gas choice (e.g. the ability for customers to choose their natural gas supplier) has continued to expand. At the same time, three of the four major natural gas utilities, Dominion, Vectren and Columbia, asked the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio for approval to set their prices through an auction process. Increased choice and competition have both contributed to keeping natural gas bills affordable. However, as the number of options has increased, so has the need for natural gas consumers to better understand natural gas pricing and other issues related to purchasing natural gas.

The OCC offers consumers a number of fact sheets and other documents to help make informed choices about how and from whom to purchase their natural gas supply. Comparing Your Natural Gas Choices is updated weekly on OCC's website, www.pickocc.org to give customers a chance to compare the prices offered by the utilities with those of independent retail suppliers to determine the choice that best fits their individual needs. A number of additional fact sheets are available to answer frequently asked questions and provide information to increase customers' understanding of important natural gas issues.

OCC has had to cancel many of its services, including its consumer call center, due to recent budget cuts. We realize you may continue to need assistance with your utility services. OCC's website provides free access to publications and resources.

You may seek assistance with utility complaints from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio:
800-686-7826. For complaints about non-utility related services, you may call the Ohio Attorney General
at 800-282-0515.