[Watch previous FOX 8 News coverage on a proposed natural gas rate increase in the player above.]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WJW) — State utilities regulators have ordered natural gas distributor Enbridge Gas Ohio — formerly Dominion Energy Ohio — to lower its base distribution rates.
The Thursday order is intended to cut Enbridge’s annual revenue by $23.6 million and set a return rate of 6.6%, according to a Thursday news release from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
“Today’s order strikes the appropriate balance in setting rates to assure all customers have access to reliable, safe and affordable natural gas service, while paving the way for continued investments in the utility’s system,” commission Chair Jenifer French is quoted in the release.
It’s unclear how the rate change could affect gas bills, but customers should learn their new rates within 30 days, according to the release.
Enbridge’s current standard choice offer for residential customers with lower usage is about $3.70 per thousand cubic feet through July 11, according to the Energy Choice Ohio website. That’s up 3 cents per MCF in the prior period.
Thursday’s order does not affect the price of natural gas itself.
The commission authorized Enbridge to continue a program to replace aging pipeline infrastructure as well as a program intended to recoup capital investment costs through 2028, according to the release. Costs for those programs would be reviewed and approved by the commission.
Enbridge, which serves about 1.2 million Ohio customers, applied to raise its rates in October 2023, seeking about $211 in additional revenue.
The change would have meant an increase of about $100 per year for the average household, according to the Ohio Office of Consumers’ Counsel, a consumer watchdog. The office instead recommended an about $18 decrease on customers’ fixed monthly charges, from $43.27 to $25.57, which would save a typical consumer more than $200 per year.
PUCO staffers recommended a revenue decrease in a June 2024 report. Public hearings on the rate changes happened in September 2024 around Northeast Ohio, and an evidentiary hearing happened at the commission offices between January and February 2025.
Learn more about the commission’s process in deciding rate cases here.
