The City of Bellefontaine has an opt-out natural gas community aggregation program served by Constellation that expires in October 2024. Constellation has chosen not to offer a renewal option for the program resulting in the drop of current participants in the aggregation program back to CenterPoint’s Standard Choice Offer (SCO).
The City of Bellefontaine is part of a group of 11 communities that negotiate natural gas aggregation rates collectively through our energy consultant, AGE Powered by Priority Power.
“Aggregation services have changed a lot in recent years and many suppliers are reevaluating their position on offerings within certain markets,” stated AGE’s Director of Procurement and Business Development, Jordan Haarmann. “Unfortunately, Constellation is not willing to offer a natural gas aggregation contract at the moment, but we are working with other suppliers to find a suitable solution that offers value to residents within the aggregation program and expect to have a new contract in place soon.”
Service-Safety Director, Wes Dodds explains:
As the current contract nears its conclusion, Constellation will begin submitting drops on all participants to CenterPoint. This will trigger residents to receive two letters:
- The first letter will be from CenterPoint confirming their account has been dropped by Constellation and they will automatically be assigned to a new supplier within the SCO.
- A second letter will come from the supplier the customer is assigned to under the SCO.
The Standard Choice Offer (SCO) is a monthly variable rate that CenterPoint Energy Ohio customers pay for natural gas supply when they do not choose a supplier either on their own or through a community choice aggregation program. The SCO rate is based on the NYMEX month-end settlement price and the Retail Price Adjustment, which is set by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. As of September 1, 2024, the SCO rate for CenterPoint Energy Ohio customers is $0.3365 per ccf.
“The SCO rate is a really low-price offer at the moment, but does come with some risk being a variable rate that will change with the market,” said Haarmann. “Our goal is to find a fixed rate alternative from a retail natural gas supplier to serve the natural gas aggregation program so residents have the option of having price certainty heading into the winter months or taking on the risk of the SCO rate structure.”
Residents can direct their questions about the natural gas aggregation program to Jordan Haarmann at 618-203-8328 or [email protected].
