Natural Gas and Electricity News

GAS AND ELECTRICITY NEWS UPDATED
ELECTRICITY RATE GOES UP!
October 21, 2024
We’re on the cusp of the heating season. Here are some preparatory thoughts to be ready for it.
GAS: For some time NOPEC’s natural gas fixed rate has been stuck at $4.25.
At the beginning of 2024 rates got so low that we urged switching to a variable rate. Since “I eat my own cooking” I went to the variable rate and unless something drastic happens I’ll stay there throughout the winter. The “futures” rate, which is a variable of course, for January of ’25 has been consistently lower than average fixed rates. Naturally that can change and if something happens that a fixed rate becomes the rate of choice you’ll see it on the City’s web site, brecksville.oh.us. Click on “News and Events.” Since the Brecksville Bulletin is a bi-monthly publication if anything requires your immediate attention that’s where it will be.
Meanwhile, most people assume that the winter months mean gas rates will automatically go up. But a huge determining factor is how much gas is in storage and right now it’s a lot which is keeping rates down. That’s the law of supply and demand in action. There is more gas in storage than last year at this time and more than the five-year average. Those are healthy supply levels going into the winter. They are a cushion against winter price spikes. Unless there is a significant reduction in production or an unexpected surge in demand things will stay as they have been. You’ve heard people say, “Gee, that was a mild winter.” And that’s true. In fact, 6 of the warmest winters on record have happened since 2011, including the last two years.
At about this time of year what I call the “for-profit companies” really go after your business. Yes, there are lower fixed rates than NOPEC’s $4.25 but those companies have tricks to recoup their lower price. Let’s say you sign up with a for-profit company at a great rate. But when the contract ends the renewal rate “offer” is often above average. I call it “delayed bait and switch.” Recently a reader called and said his renewal rate was about $2 more than a good fixed rate. The companies know that the average customer DOES NOT PAY ATTENTION when the renewal letter comes. And if you get an offer in the mail with a $100 gift card, forget it. You can bet the ranch the offered rate will be above average and they’ll get their $100 back probably before your contract is over. And if a company comes to your door, DO NOT deal with them. The price is not right!!
ELECTRICITY: The “RATE TO COMPARE” on the upper left side of your Illuminating Co. bill varies from bill to bill but essentially it just went down to about 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour.
However, NOPEC’s fixed rate has gone up from 6.80 cents per kilowatt hour to 7.8 cents per kilowatt hour. On the right side of your bill that will be expressed as 0.07.8 per kWh.
BRACE YOURSELF: One thing that has been talked about is that it appears the natural gas DELIVERY charges are going to go up significantly. A year ago, Dominion sent a letter to public officials that said they would be filing a request with the PUCO which would mean that “the proposed increase for the overall average monthly bill would be approximately 16.8%.” Since this affects only the DELIVERY charges there is nothing you can do about it. You are only able to shop for a good rate on the gas itself. So far the PUCO has not acted on this.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Cleveland.com has reported that the “grid,” called the PJM, where our power comes from, has what is called a “capacity issue.” This could cause prices to rise by as much as 25% next summer! If that happens it will again only be on the DELIVERY charge so save your breath. This is being blamed on all of the additional “data centers.” For example, just 1 ChatGPT search uses 10 times the electricity of 1 Google search.”.
This is an “expected increase.” Watch the news and if I get more substantive info I’ll pass it along.
Finally, when in doubt, always call Ted with questions. 440-526-2606.
The opinions expressed are those of Ted Lux and do not necessarily reflect those of Mayor Kingston or City Council.