CLEVELAND, July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning September 1, 2008, Dominion East Ohio sales customers will pay a new Standard Service Offer rate, consisting of the national market price for natural gas, plus an additional $2.33 per thousand cubic feet (mcf), based on results of an auction, conducted today under Public Utilities Commission of Ohio supervision.
The auction results are subject to PUCO approval. The Commission is scheduled to rule on the auction results July 23, 2008.
Under the auction, five suppliers agreed to provide the amount of natural gas needed to serve the 400,000, or 30 percent, of Dominion East Ohio's 1.2 million customers who do not already buy natural gas from other suppliers under Energy Choice or municipal aggregation programs. About 800,000, or 70 percent of the company's customers buy natural gas from competitive suppliers under the Energy Choice program.
The new auction extends the first phase of Dominion East Ohio's planned transition to a more competitive market for natural gas service, a pilot program that began in October 2006.
Through March 31, 2009, Dominion East Ohio sales customers will continue to pay a Standard Service Offer (SSO) price that varies monthly -- based on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) month-end settlement price -- plus the new Retail Price Adjustment of $2.33 per mcf. This adjustment includes the cost of transporting gas from producing areas to Ohio. An auction held August 29, 2006, set the previous Retail Price Adjustment of $1.44 per mcf.
Two new auctions, to be held in February 2009, would kick off Phase 2 of the program.
One auction would set the SSO Retail Price Adjustment covering April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010. The SSO would include only those customers participating in the company's Percentage of Income Payment Plan and others not eligible to participate in Energy Choice.
The second auction would determine the Retail Price Adjustment for a new Standard Choice Offer (SCO), covering the same time period. Under the SCO, the company would continue buying natural gas for Choice-eligible customers but would assign them to a specific supplier and identify that designated supplier on the customer bill. Customers who do not wish to receive service from their designated supplier would be free at any time to enroll with a different Energy Choice supplier or participate in a governmental aggregation program.
Dominion East Ohio recommends all customers consider their Energy Choice options. Because new offers come out from time to time, customers should continue to review information available on the Public Utility Commission of Ohio's "Apples to Apples" chart. To get a free copy of the "Apples to Apples" chart, which compares various supplier offers, contact the PUCO at 1-800-299-7271 or visit the Commission's website at http://www.puco.ohio.gov/ .
Also, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel updates its "Comparing Your Energy Choices" chart weekly, and also offers the online "Calculating Your Energy Choices" worksheet, along with general information about participating Energy Choice suppliers. The OCC's website is http://www.pickocc.org/ and the toll-free number is 1-877-PICKOCC (1-877-742-5622).
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 26,500 megawatts of generation, 1.1 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas and oil reserves, 14,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline and 6,000 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage facility with 975 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 11 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at http://www.dom.com/ .
