Energy Choice allows you to comparison shop for natural gas just like you do for other goods and services. With Energy Choice, customers from large manufacturers to residential homeowners are able to shop for natural gas supply options from a diverse group of competitive retail suppliers certified by the PUCO. Although you buy your gas from a retail supplier under this program, Dominion Energy Ohio will continue to deliver your natural gas; respond to service and emergency needs; read your meter and provide customer service and billing.
Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQs below and for additional information on terms, please see our Glossary, also below.
The Energy Choice story is a process that has spanned decades and includes early legislation relating to federal deregulation of the natural gas market, the unbundling of the transportation and commodity services, and more recently the emerging competitive market between natural gas suppliers. Notable events in the evolution of Energy Choice are listed below.
Participants must be Dominion Energy Ohio customers and they must be current with their payments (no past-due balances outside of a payment plan) to Dominion Energy Ohio in order to participate in the Energy Choice program. Customers with arrears that have not broken more than one payment plan in the past 12-months may participate in Energy Choice but will be placed on a new payment plan and must remain current. PIPP Plus and Graduate PIPP Plus customers are ineligible to participate in the Energy Choice program.
“Certified natural gas suppliers” are competitive retail natural gas suppliers that have been certified by the PUCO to participate in the Energy Choice program.
Energy Choice is an opportunity to manage your gas costs through selection of a rate plan that works for you. If you are eligible to participate in the Energy Choice program and do not choose a supplier, one will still be assigned to you. You will still receive the same reliable natural gas service, but you won’t be selecting from whom you buy the natural gas. Although customers are not required to shop, Dominion Energy Ohio encourages customers to review available options periodically to ensure they are making informed decisions about their natural gas costs.
Absolutely not. Although you purchase your gas from a retail supplier, Dominion Energy Ohio will continue to deliver the natural gas to your home, respond to any emergencies, and provide customer service.
There are many factors that influence the price of gas, including weather, the popularity of natural gas in homes and businesses, supply and demand, and competing fuels such as oil, coal, and renewable forms of energy.
Before you make any changes to your Energy Choice agreement, please review our Questions to Ask a Supplier.
You may be able to enroll directly with the supplier by telephone, mail, fax, Internet or through a door-to-door representative. Whichever method is used, it is critical that you obtain a copy of your contract and keep it through the duration of your service contract. Once you've enrolled with a supplier, the supplier will notify Dominion Energy Ohio of the switch. We will then mail you a letter confirming your choice to purchase natural gas from a competitive retail natural gas supplier, the supplier chosen and the date the switch will become effective. You then have seven business days from the postmark date on that letter to cancel your contract without penalty. To cancel the contract, you must contact Dominion Energy Ohio.
One of two things will happen when your Energy Choice agreement ends:
You will need to review your contract terms and conditions and look for information about what happens at the end of the contract period and for any automatic renewal provisions. Automatic renewals are fairly common in supplier contracts. Keep in mind, your supplier is required to provide you with a notice by mail that your original contract is ending. In most instances, that notice will contain information about automatically renewing your contract. If the renewal notice contains no material changes, such as an increase in a fixed rate, a change from a fixed to a variable rate or any new fees from your original contract and is for a period of six months or longer, the supplier is required to send you a notice about your new contract's expiration by mail at least 45-days before your original contract ends. If your contract does not have a renewal provision, you will be returned to Dominion Energy Ohio temporarily at the end of the contract period.
Yes. You can switch to another natural gas supplier at any time, but if you are receiving service under an Energy Choice agreement or through a governmental aggregation program, there may be penalties for doing so. Depending on the supplier, you may be charged a cancellation fee to end your contract early. Check your contract to determine the amount of the fee. If you move directly from one natural gas supplier to another, the actual switch may take up to two billing cycles. At no time during the switch should you experience a disruption in your natural gas service. There is no termination fee to switch from the SCO or MRR to an Energy Choice agreement with a selected supplier.
The theory behind governmental aggregation is simple: by using the bulk purchasing power of communities or other buying groups, greater savings can be passed on to individual consumers. By joining together, consumers can also gain the ability to utilize a team of experienced professionals to negotiate for better prices and protections.
Many communities in Northeast Ohio have formed a governmental aggregation group called the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC). NOPEC is the largest such aggregation in the United States. To participate with NOPEC, you must be a Dominion Energy Ohio customer up to date with your payments to Dominion Energy Ohio who lives in a NOPEC Gas Community. If you are with another supplier, compare your rate with NOPEC’s rate and consider any cancellation fee that you may be charged before changing to NOPEC’s aggregation program.
No, the SCO and MRR rates will change each month. They may be more, or less, than the price of gas a customer may find with a retail supplier or governmental aggregation program. Plus, a supplier may be able to offer a fixed rate, which helps customers plan their gas costs.
The SCO customer's assigned default supplier changes every April due to Dominion Energy Ohio’s auction process. The SCO rate will transfer if the customer moves. However, when a customer's account closes and we issue a final bill, he or she will go through the SCO rotation again once service is restored, which means the customer may end up with the same, or a different, SCO supplier.
Some low-cost or no-cost ways to save energy and money include:
Yes, there are a number of programs that income-eligible residential customers can apply for including HEAP, PIPP Plus and EnergyShare Customers can apply for HEAP and PIPP Plus by calling the Ohio Department of Development at 800-282-0880. To apply for EnergyShare, customers can contact their local Salvation Army.
Opting out of supplier lists can be performed by signing into Manage Your Account. Once you sign in, navigate to Edit Account Settings and select “Opt-In/Out of Supplier Lists”. Customers who opt out of supplier lists will block their information from being released for Energy Choice and governmental aggregation solicitations. However, this does not prevent a supplier from getting the customer's information from another source or using information from a previous list. Phone numbers are not included on supplier lists.
Under Ohio law, persons, local governments, or organizations may band together into an aggregation, or buying group, to negotiate favorable rates for purchasing natural gas. Some potential advantages of aggregation may be the option of locking in a rate for a longer period of time, lower prices, or other benefits for group members.
This charge recovers fixed-cost operating expenses associated with delivering natural gas. It also includes a component that allows the utility to recover a return on its investment in assets used to deliver natural gas for its shareholders, as approved by the PUCO.
The price for the natural gas itself or simply, gas cost.
The details of an Energy Choice agreement between a customer and supplier that specifies length or duration of the contract (i.e., monthly, yearly, multiple year), gas cost rate, any associated fees, and other important information.
As shown on the PUCO's Apples to Apples chart, a current offer comprises the suppliers’ current commodity price, exclusive of sales tax; rate type; introductory price; term length in months; early termination fee; monthly fee and promotional offers. Commodity options may be a fixed, variable, or stable rate plan.
Any person or entity that is an end user of natural gas and is connected to any part of the delivery system within a natural gas utility service territory within this state.
If customers eligible to participate in the Energy Choice program do not choose a natural gas supplier, they will receive natural gas from an approved supplier under one of Dominion Energy Ohio’s default service tariffs, either the Standard Choice Offer (SCO) Commodity Service or the Monthly Retail Rate (MRR) Commodity Service depending on the type of customer. The default rate is the rate corresponding to the SCO service or MRR service. These rates change monthly.
Removal or relaxation of regulations or controls governing business or service operations like utilities. Deregulation in Ohio allows customers to purchase gas from retail suppliers other than the regulated public utility that delivers the gas.
An independent federal agency that regulates the interstate transmission of natural gas, oil and electricity.
A per unit price for the natural gas commodity that remains constant for the contracted term. Although the per unit price is fixed, the total charge will vary depending on the amount of gas consumed.
As a public utility, Dominion Energy Ohio pays a tax based on its gross receipts for the privilege of doing business in the State of Ohio. This tax is passed through to customers as a charge calculated as 4.6044% of total Dominion Energy Ohio charges billed. A gross receipts tax is not charged on the natural gas commodity purchased from retail suppliers through the Energy Choice program or on warranty products. Federal government accounts are not subject to the gross receipts tax.
HEAP is the Home Energy Assistance Program, a federally funded program administered by the Ohio Department of Development. It is designed to help eligible low-income Ohioans meet the high costs of home heating. HEAP makes a one-time payment for most PUCO- regulated utility customers reflecting their usage for the current winter heating season.
A Dominion Energy Ohio customer who uses 3,000 Mcf or more of natural gas per year.
The local natural gas distribution utility, regulated by the PUCO, that delivers natural gas to your home or business.
An abbreviation for one thousand cubic feet, a unit used to measure natural gas usage. This is the unit of measure used by Dominion Energy Ohio.
The default natural gas cost for medium and large nonresidential customers whose Energy Choice or opt-in governmental aggregation contract has expired, if another retail supplier is not selected. Under this rate, Dominion Energy Ohio assigns a participating supplier to provide gas supply. The rate your supplier charges will be a calculated MRR price determined each month based on the median of each MRR supplier’s lowest monthly variable rate offer, or the assigned supplier’s monthly variable rate if it is lower than the median price.
As defined by the PUCO settlement in Case No. 18-1419-GA-EXM, default gas service options for nonresidential customers are determined based on annual consumption as follows:
Many communities in Northeast Ohio have formed an aggregation called the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC). NOPEC is the largest such aggregation group in the United States.
The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is a public market on which commodities, including natural gas, are bought and sold. Buyers purchase futures contracts on the NYMEX for natural gas that will be delivered at a later date. The month-end settlement price for the coming month's futures contract is the basis for the SSO and SCO rates.
The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel represents the interests of Ohio's residential utility customers, including in proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) is a low-income payment assistance plan sponsored by Dominion Energy Ohio in accordance with PUCO rules. This program is administered by the Ohio Department of Development and Dominion Energy Ohio.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) affects nearly every household in Ohio. The PUCO regulates providers of all kinds of utility services, including electric and natural gas companies.
A natural gas service provided to any location where the use is primarily of a domestic nature.
When natural gas is purchased from a competitive retail natural gas supplier, the natural gas cost billed is subject to Ohio sales or use tax. Because sales tax rates vary by county throughout Ohio, sales tax is not included in the supplier's total rate on the PUCO's Apples to Apples chart.
A commercial customer, but not mercantile customer (as defined under division (L) of section 4929.01 of the Revised Code). This is a customer that consumes less than 500 Mcf of natural gas per year for other than residential use.
The Standard Choice Offer is a variable rate that certain eligible customers pay for their natural gas consumption. It is determined monthly by the market price for natural gas (i.e., the NYMEX futures settlement price for the coming month) plus a retail price adjustment determined in an annual auction process. The SCO can be elected by Energy Choice-eligible residential customers and nonresidential customers with annual usage of 200 Mcf or less by contacting Dominion Energy Ohio, and it is the default rate for these customers who have not chosen a supplier or joined a municipal aggregation program. The SCO may also be elected by medium nonresidential customers with annual usage of more than 200 Mcf and up to 500 Mcf by contacting Dominion Energy Ohio.
Dominion Energy Ohio’s Standard Service Offer commodity service is provided to Energy Choice-ineligible customers and certain transitional customers. The SSO natural gas rate, like the SCO, is based on the NYMEX futures settlement price for the coming month plus the Retail Price Adjustment determined in an annual auction and changes monthly due to fluctuations in the price of natural gas on the NYMEX.
The company you choose to provide the supply portion of your natural gas service. You buy your gas from this company and Dominion Energy Ohio delivers it to your home or business.
Includes the natural gas commodity price plus the usage-based charges.
The usage-based portion of your bill covers the operating costs associated with natural gas distribution that are charged on a per Mcf basis. This portion is billed separately from the gas cost commodity portion of your bill for Energy Choice-eligible customers. For SSO customers, the gas cost is included. Usage-based charges include applicable volumetric base rate(s), and the following: Excise Tax rider, Percentage of Income Payment Plan rider, Uncollectible Expense rider, competitive retail natural gas service Surcredit rider, Demand Side Management rider and Transportation Migration rider. The usage-based charges change at least quarterly as the various components are revised with approval by the PUCO.
The portion of your bill that shows a 13-month comparison of natural gas usage.
A natural gas commodity price per unit Mcf that fluctuates within the contracted term.
From 1938 to 1978, the Federal government regulated only the interstate natural gas market. The Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA) granted the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authority over intrastate as well as interstate natural gas production. After market-distorting price ceilings for natural gas were eliminated, increased natural gas production resulted in a continuation of a downward price trend.
This order enabled interstate pipeline companies to offer transportation services separately from the sale of the natural gas commodity, a process known as “unbundling.” This meant that gas utilities and end use customers could for the first time buy gas directly from producers or other parties.
This act required all remaining price ceilings to expire by 1993 rather than the year 2000, as initially set by the NGPA in 1978. Congress expected this act would make wellhead prices for natural gas more accurately reflect market conditions and remove unintended price distortions left over from the NGPA.
This order required interstate pipeline companies to separate sales and transportation services completely to ensure that transportation services were equal in quality, whether the gas was purchased from the pipeline company itself, a marketer, or a producer. This gave all natural gas sellers equal footing in moving natural gas from the wellhead to the end user and increased competition under a more flexible market.
After years of offering transportation service to large industrial and commercial customers, The East Ohio Gas Company became one of the first gas utilities in the nation to allow residential and small commercial customers to purchase their natural gas directly from a marketer. Under its 10-county pilot program, East Ohio allowed those customers to purchase natural gas directly from suppliers at a rate other than the regulated Gas Cost Recovery (GCR) rate overseen by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). About 33,000 customers eventually participated in the pilot Energy Choice program.
In October 2000, The East Ohio Gas Company expanded its Energy Choice pilot program to all eligible customers throughout its entire service territory. In each of the first three months, about 100,000 out of East Ohio’s 1.2 million customers elected to purchase their natural gas from a marketer, making it one of the largest such programs in the country at the time.
The signing of House Bill 9 introduced two major impacts to the natural gas market. The first was that all retail natural gas suppliers would need to be certified by the PUCO to conduct business in Ohio and the second was authorization of governmental aggregation for competitive retail natural gas service. This meant that consumers could shop with confidence and even assemble as a community or larger buying group to solicit a price lower than what they might receive as individuals.
In order to better recognize Dominion Energy Ohio’s role as a distribution company and to help foster a more competitive market by expanding retail choice options, Dominion Energy Ohio filed a transitional plan in which the non-market-responsive Gas Cost Recovery Rate would be phased out and a new Standard Service Offer (SSO) rate would be implemented. This not only encouraged suppliers to devote greater effort to compete in the market, but also helped to maximize the pool of customers receiving the commodity service from natural gas suppliers.
After approval from the PUCO, Dominion Energy Ohio replaced its GCR rate with the Standard Service Offer (SSO) rate effective October 12, 2006. Under the new SSO structure, Dominion Energy Ohio conducted an annual auction designed to establish a competitive rate for natural gas sold to those customers who did not participate in the Energy Choice program and was the first natural gas distribution company in the nation to introduce such a program. Dominion Energy Ohio continues to sell gas purchased in this manner to residential customers who are not eligible to participate in the Energy Choice program. The SSO rate changes every month and is based on the month-end closing price of natural gas on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), plus the Retail Price Adjustment established in the auction.
As part of its continuing progression toward more competitive natural gas commodity service and once again being the first natural gas distribution company in the nation to do so, Dominion Energy Ohio introduced the auction-based variable rate option behind its Standard Service Offer to include choice-eligible customers. Dominion Energy Ohio gained PUCO approval to introduce Standard Choice Offer (SCO) and Monthly Variable Rate (MVR) commodity service. Under the SCO program, Dominion Energy Ohio conducts an annual auction overseen by the PUCO to determine a Retail Price Adjustment that is added to the NYMEX price in the same manner as SSO service. Customers who are eligible to participate in the Energy Choice program but have not chosen a supplier are assigned to a supplier providing SCO service to help them become accustomed to participating in the program. MVR service was available to those customers who previously participated in the Energy Choice program and whose supplier agreement was terminated without their selection of a new supplier. The MVR rates charged by participating supplier was not regulated by the PUCO but was capped by a supplier’s lowest competitive monthly variable rate posted on the PUCO’s Apples to Apples chart. Dominion Energy Ohio randomly assigned those customers to a new supplier at that supplier’s MVR rate, unless the customer specifically requests an SCO rate.
In its effort to establish an even more competitive market, Dominion Energy Ohio became the first natural gas distribution company in the state of Ohio to request and receive PUCO approval to cease offering commodity service to Large Volume and Nonresidential customers. (DEO will continue to deliver the gas purchased by customers from retail suppliers.) While still able to participate in the Energy Choice program by selecting from available rate offers of certified suppliers, those customers were no longer eligible for SCO service. If the customers did not choose a supplier, Dominion Energy Ohio assigned them at random to an MVR supplier at that supplier’s prevailing MVR. Dominion Energy Ohio agreed to evaluate the success of this “exit” before deciding whether to seek PUCO approval to expand it to residential customers.
The MVR was a default rate that former Energy Choice customers, including those in an opt-in governmental aggregation program, were assigned if their contract expired and they did not reenroll with a new aggregation program or establish a new Energy Choice agreement. The MVR rate charge for gas usage was set by individual suppliers participating in the MVR option. Under a settlement agreement approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) in Case No. 18-1419-GA-EXM, the MVR was phased out. The MVR option was eliminated in April 2020 for all residential and small nonresidential customers. Small nonresidential customers are defined as those using less than or equal to 200 Mcf per year.
The MVR option was replaced by the Monthly Retail Rate (MRR) commodity service in July 2020 for medium and large nonresidential customers. The settlement defines medium nonresidential customers as those consuming more than 200 Mcf per year and up to 500 Mcf of gas per year. Large nonresidential customers are those consuming more than 500 Mcf of gas per year.
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