Here are some updates regarding natural gas offers.
If you missed my yearly analysis of the offers, it was published on Sept. 4. You can see an information chart and the column and accompanying story — and all of my previous columns and business stories — at www.ohio.com/betty or at the local library if you don’t have Internet access.
I have no updates on pricing. I did note in my column that prices change daily and the prices quoted in that column could no longer be valid. I don’t plan on updating pricing unless a marketer really wows me. But as I said Sept. 4, I am apt to stay with Dominion’s Standard Choice Offer (SCO), or monthly variable based on a state-approved formula this winter because the prices are so attractive and the futures market is showing that prices will remain low. I didn’t think the fixed one-year rates were attractive enough, given the low wholesale prices.
Everyone has to make his or her own decision and some might feel more comfortable locking into a fixed rate for the winter. I’m just taking a more calculated risk since variable pricing is so low.
Switching to the SCO
The last six paragraphs on Sept. 4 went into a detailed account of how to switch to the SCO if you decide to follow me, but there seems to be some confusion.
If you are under a contract with a provider, you do not call Dominion East Ohio to leave that provider. You must call your provider to tell it you want to cancel your contract and it will send you back to Dominion. Ask about a cancellation fee for leaving your contract early and assess whether you want to pay it. Often, if it’s a higher fixed rate, you will still save money by paying that fee, but that’s why I advocate contracts with low to no fees. Also, sometimes marketers will make a special offer not available to the public to try to persuade you to stay.
Once you get your first bill with the words Standard Service Offer (SSO) instead of your current provider, then you should call Dominion to be put on the Standard Choice Offer (SCO). Dominion will randomly assign a provider to give you that SCO rate. The SSO and SCO are the same rate, but unless you call Dominion, after the third month, your randomly selected provider is allowed to charge you its own monthly variable rate, which probably is higher than the state-approved formula.
Dominion officials have acknowledged that this process is cumbersome and they are working on program changes that will make it easier.
Because Dominion has automatic voice systems on its phone lines, spokesman Neil Durbin suggests using the words “Standard Choice Rate” when you call. Don’t say “Standard Choice Service.”
Aggregations
Another reminder that this is the season when a lot of community buying groups, called aggregations, are setting new rates with marketers. Some aggregations have variable rates, fixed rates and some even have variable rates with an option to lock into a fixed rate. You can certainly always evaluate your own community’s aggregation rate. It depends on the price when the community strikes its deal and how much of a profit the marketer is willing to take, but some communities might offer decent pricing.
If you decide to follow me and go with the SCO, you will most likely be included in your community’s aggregation pool because you haven’t actively selected a marketer. (In previous years, the thinking is that people who stay on the SCO might not be actively shopping the natural gas market, so they may need some guidance. We’re doing something a little different since we are actively shopping the market and choosing to stay with the SCO).
Watch for notices in the mail. If your community has an aggregation and your account gets pulled in, you will need to call or send a postcard response to “opt out” of that rate, or you’ll be automatically included. Don’t mistake the notice for junk mail.
Door-to-door marketers
Often, many of the marketers canvas neighborhoods door to door to try to sell their rates. As with any door-to-door-marketer, know your options before agreeing to something with someone who shows up at your door. He or she might not have the best offer.
I’ve gotten some reports over the years and again recently of marketers asking to see your Dominion bill. They want to see what rate you have. But I’d be careful. While I haven’t heard of anybody being changed to a company against his or her will, your account number is still on the bill; if a marketer wants to know your rate, you can look it up and tell them without showing your bill.
I have also received a few complaints from consumers who think that Dominion is knocking on their door. The utility Dominion does not go door to door.
One woman said a marketer showed her an ID with the PUCO name on it and had a hat with Just Energy on it (a marketer). The marketer never identified himself as being with Just Energy in what the woman described as a high-pressure sales pitch. She has complained to the PUCO.
Just Energy last year settled with the PUCO for unfair and deceptive door-to-door practices. The company could be reprimanded again if there are 10 complaints in a month in any two-month period. PUCO spokesman Matt Butler said there have been complaints against Just Energy this year, but not enough to meet the threshold.
“Just Energy employs comprehensive sales and service processes to ensure a consumer understands the products being offered,” said Just Energy Executive Vice President of Regulatory and Legal Affairs Gord Potter. “All salespeople are fully and clearly branded and all sales made are verified by an independent third party. As a result we continue to maintain a very high level of customer satisfaction with our customers.”
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Betty on Twitter at www.twitter.com/blinfisher and see all her stories at www.ohio.com/betty.
