Ohio's Greene County New Natural Gas Prices To Start in Spring 23'

Greene County voters passed a ballot initiative for natural gas aggregation, and the county is now working to provide better rates to residents and businesses in unincorporated areas through collective buying power. Commissioners recently passed their Plan of Operation and Governance for the natural gas aggregation program, and they are working with energy broker Palmer Energy to collect bids from natural gas suppliers. Once the company has received prices from suppliers, Palmer and the commission will negotiate a one- to three-year contract with the supplier providing the best rate for program participants. The bidding process will occur in the spring, and the program will begin in the fall. Residents and businesses can opt out of the aggregation program at no cost up to 21 days after a notice of rates and terms of the aggregation is mailed to them. Customers can also join the program at a later date, even if they initially opted out, though the same rates cannot be guaranteed, according to public documents.

Most natural gas customers in Greene County’s unincorporated areas are currently under Columbia Gas of Ohio or CenterPoint Energy. Under the aggregation program, a community entity negotiates with suppliers on behalf of a larger group of eligible households, nonprofits, and small businesses in an effort to save money. This gives residents, businesses, and local governments collective buying power, according to County Administrator Brandon Huddleson.

Greene County passed and entered into an electric aggregation contract in 2021. “Because the cost of natural gas has been low for a long time, but now it’s rising — along with everything else — there’s renewed interest in that,” Huddleson said. AES Ohio raised their price per kWh for electricity from its “standard offer” price of 4.805 cents to 10.91 cents last year. In contrast, Greene County residents that are part of the electric aggregation program are locked in at 4.47 kWh through May of 2024, less than half of AES Ohio’s rate.

Explore our natural gas procurement services to see if your business or household can secure lower rates and more cost savings.