Contact: Marty Berkowitz
(614) 387-2962
COLUMBUS, Ohio – March 13, 2009 – A mailing targeted towards potentially thousands of Dominion East Ohio Gas customers could mislead those residents into believing that their gas company will stop supplying natural gas in April, the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) said today.
The postcard was sent by Dominion East Ohio Energy, the gas company’s affiliate, which is a competitive retail supplier to customers not currently enrolled in the Dominion East Ohio (the gas company) Gas Choice Program, and stated that customers not switching to an independent supplier by April 2009 would no longer receive their gas from Dominion East Ohio Gas.
Dominion East Ohio Energy contracts with choice-eligible customers and is often confused with the utility itself. Concerns about the postcard have been raised with the OCC by customers who are worried that Dominion East Ohio Gas will no longer supply their gas after April 1.
That is NOT the case. To clarify, the current confusion over this issue, here are the facts:
There will be no loss of supply to ANY Dominion East Ohio Gas customer. The utility will still be arranging delivery of its natural gas supply and transporting that gas to its customers;
The only difference that Dominion East Ohio Gas customers will notice is that the name of a supplier who actually acquired the natural gas for the gas company will be listed on their natural gas bill;
If no action is taken by customers, no further changes will occur; and
Although customers may be contacted by the supplier to whom they were assigned with separate offers, there is no requirement that they respond to any solicitation that they may receive.
“Our office is concerned that Dominion East Ohio Gas customers have a full understanding of the options that are open to them,” Janine Migden-Ostrander, Consumers’ Counsel said. “One such available option, if they are satisfied with the service they currently receive or confused by the postcard, is to do nothing. They will continue to be served by Dominion East Ohio Gas as they always have and be billed at the same rate as all Standard Choice customers.”
The OCC offers an up-to-date chart listing all independent suppliers in Ohio, their rate offers, whether the rates are fixed or variable, and the contract length. You may find this document, titled “Comparing Your Energy Choices” on the OCC website at www.pickocc.org . You may also contact the OCC toll free at 1-877-742-5622 or 1-877-PICKOCC for any questions you may have about Gas Choice.