Jan. 27—The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Thursday accepted the results of CenterPoint Energy Ohio's auction for its standard choice price offer on natural gas, resulting in a slight decrease in price.

The auction secured natural gas supplies for CenterPoint's customers from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 and established a retail price adjustment of $0.10 per hundred cubic feet (ccf).

That means a reduction of $0.007 per ccf, PUCO spokesman Matt Shilling said. But he cautioned that the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) month-end settlement price for natural gas changes each month.

To calculate their gas supply cost, residents need to add this retail price adjustment set in the auction, plus the NYMEX month-end settlement.

The price adjustment reflects the winning bidders' estimate of the cost to deliver natural gas from production areas to CenterPoint's service area, the PUCO said.

The standard choice offer or "SCO" will apply to CenterPoint's choice-eligible customers that have not selected an alternative supplier.

Nationally, fears that suppliers would not be able to meet demand for gas have eased considerably, thanks in part to a relatively mild winter. Prices that were high last summer have fallen, and gas for February delivery lost as much as 10% Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On Jan. 23, Enel X, CenterPoint's auction manager, conducted a descending clock auction for the standard choice offer rate. Bids were submitted by natural gas suppliers based on fixed adjustments to the NYMEX settlement price.

The names of winning bidders will remain confidential for 15 days to protect the suppliers' positions in contract negotiations with pipeline companies, the PUCO said.

Vectren Corp., parent company of the region's natural gas provider, completed a merger with Houston energy company CenterPoint Energy Inc. in 2019. CenterPoint Energy of Ohio provides natural gas to about 316,000 customers in a 17-county region of west central Ohio.

Choice-eligible customers can enroll with a gas supplier of their choosing, join a government aggregation buying group or remain on the SCO.

Customers who are interested in choosing an energy choice supplier can compare rates by visiting the PUCO's Energy Choice Ohio website at www.energychoice.ohio.gov.