Columbia’s March gas costs to be less than half the 2009 price
2/15/2010 11:34:03 AM
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Columbia Gas of Ohio today filed its Gas Cost Recovery (GCR) adjustment for March with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). The GCR of 44 cents per 100 cubic feet (Ccf) of natural gas will be 51 cents lower than March 2009, when it was 95 cents.
Compared to February 2010, the March GCR will be 2 cents higher. Lower natural gas usage due to slightly warmer temperatures will decrease the typical residential customer’s March bill to $91.60, compared to $104.31 in February. Average residential gas usage is 130 Ccf in March versus 158 Ccf in February.
The March 2010 bill will be $70.73 lower than in March 2009, when it was $162.33.
The change in the March GCR does not affect customers who purchase their gas from a third-party marketer through the Customer CHOICE Program, unless the marketer’s rate is tied to Columbia’s GCR. About 55% of Columbia Gas customers purchase their gas directly from the utility.
The March GCR will be in effect from March 1 through March 29. The PUCO requires Columbia to adjust its GCR charge monthly to reflect market conditions.
Columbia is scheduled to conduct a wholesale gas supply auction later this month to obtain supplies for its sales customers for the April 2010 through March 2011 period. If the PUCO approves the auction results, the GCR will be replaced by the Standard Service Offer (SSO) beginning with the April billing cycle.
March is one of the highest gas usage months of the year for Columbia’s residential heating customers, and is typically one of the months when bills are highest. Natural gas costs make up about 60 percent of the typical residential customer’s bill.
It’s important to remember that, by law, Ohio utilities may not profit on the sale of gas to their retail customers. Columbia merely passes its gas costs through to customers on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
Columbia Gas of Ohio, with headquarters in Columbus, is one of the nine energy distribution companies of NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI). Serving approximately 1.4 million customers in 61 of Ohio’s 88 counties, it is the largest natural gas utility in the state. NiSource distribution companies serve approximately 3.8 million gas and electric customers primarily in seven states.
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