CenterPoint Energy Ohio SCO supply prices more than double in a year: Here’s how to save

WHIO Staff
·2 min read

CenterPoint Energy Ohio (formerly Vectren) customers may have noticed their natural gas bills increasing in recent months as natural gas supply prices have increased for the energy provider, according to data from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

“CenterPoint Energy Ohio SCO price is driven by Nymex prices. CenterPoint Energy does not control the market price of natural gas, when the market price increases the SCO rate increases,” said Erin Merris, spokeswoman for CenterPoint Energy. “CenterPoint Energy does not supply the gas in Ohio, but simply delivers it to customers.”

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CenterPoint Energy Ohio’s SCO prices have more than doubled over the last year, currently sitting at 88 cents per ccf of natural gas for the month of May. Last May, the SCO price for CenterPoint Energy Ohio was 43 cents per ccf.

For Example:

  • In May 2021, your supply charge on your bill for 50 ccf of natural gas would have been $21.50. That same amount of natural gas this month would cost you $44 under CenterPoint Energy Ohio’s SCO price.

According to the state of Ohio, the SCO is comprised of two components, the price of the natural gas commodity, as established by the NYMEX month-end settlement price, and the cost of delivering natural gas to customers, known as the retail price adjustment.

CenterPoint Energy will not make a final market settlement on June SCO prices until May 26, Merris said.

But, there is a way for you to potentially save money and that is by locking into a different supplier by using the state’s Energy Choice Ohio program to find rates.

There are at least 20 different suppliers of natural gas in the Miami Valley.

If you lock into a rate with a different supplier, CenterPoint Energy will continue to be the deliverer of your natural gas and will be the company billing you.

You can see who your natural gas supplier currently is and the rate they are charging under the “Gas Supplier Detail” section of your CenterPoint Energy bill.