Residents can lock in natural gas rates with Akron’s new provider

If you find locking in your natural gas rates complicated or confusing, the City of Akron is offering a way to potentially make it simpler for you.

The city’s Natural Gas Program has chosen IGS Energy as its new supplier.

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If you’re already in the city’s current program with Constellation, you’ll be automatically switched to IGS unless you call, email or mail back to opt out. Opt-out letters were mailed Oct. 18 to current program members and those not under contract.

You’ll be charged a fixed rate of $3.81/Mcf, lower than the current rate of $4.06/Mcf. The new rate will be in effect from November of 2024 (December 2024 billing) through Octobee 2025 (November 2025 billing).

Any Akron resident who is not currently part of the aggregation program but who wants to sign up can call IGS toll-free at 877-353-0162.

“We are pleased to secure such a competitive rate for our residents and small businesses before rates increase,” said Akron Mayor Shammas Malik in a news release announcing the new supplier. “The IGS Energy fixed rate is priced lower than the current program and will help residents manage their natural gas costs for the next year.”

Whether you stay with your local natural gas utility or switch to another company for your gas supply, Enbridge Gas Ohio is responsible for ensuring the distribution of natural gas to residential premises and will continue to maintain the meter, monthly reads and pipelines that deliver natural gas to residents’ homes.

Residents’ natural gas bills will also continue to come from Enbridge Gas Ohio. Residents can join or leave the program at any time without an early termination fee.

The current program with Constellation New-Energy ($4.06/ MCF) will expire with the November billing, and customers not signing up with a supplier will be switched to Enbridge Gas Ohio and randomly assigned a supplier.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) offers guidance (framed below) on how to pick a natural gas supplier, including by using your local municipality’s gas aggregation program like the one offered by the City of Akron.Offers from competitive suppliers are updated daily on the PUCO’s Energy Choice Ohio website – be sure to double check the listed rates with the actual supplier before you enter into any agreement.

Be wary of some online sites (typically ending in .com) that offer energy pricing – they may list only their clients and not provide a comprehensive list of what’s available, potentially at a lower cost.

Before entering into an agreement with a potential supplier, make sure the company is on the PUCO’s certified supplier list.You can obtain a current list of suppliers by calling the PUCO at 800-686-7826. Certified suppliers have met the managerial, technical and financial standards set by the PUCO. The PUCO may take certain actions against suppliers who violate customer protections and rules.

The PUCO’s Energy Choice Ohio website provides a regularly updated Apples to Apples comparison chart of the certified suppliers’ offers and information.

Contact the suppliers you are most interested in — you can use this worksheet from the PUCO to ask questions. To sign up, simply call the supplier you choose. The supplier will contact your local natural gas utility for you.

Make sure you carefully read and understand all of the terms and conditions of your supply contract. The supplier should be able to answer any questions you have.

Your local natural gas utility will send you a letter confirming the supplier you have chosen. If the information is correct, you do not have to do anything. If the information is not correct, contact the utility and request that the switch be stopped.

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Editor-in-Chief (she/her)Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.