In the fourth time in as many months, the Ohio Consumers’Counsel (OCC) filed two similar complaints with the PublicUtilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) against Summit Natural Gas andThe Energy Cooperative — which includes Cinergy Resources andLicking Rural Electrification — alleging violations of Ohio’smuch maligned choice program, as well as Ohio law.

The complaint against Summit comes after an OCC investigationand unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with the supplier on behalfof its 3,100 residential customers, which it failed to deliver gasto from Dec. 6 through Dec. 12. Columbia Gas terminated Summit fromits choice program on Dec. 28.

The complaint alleges that Summit served residential customersunder one-and-two-year fixed rate contracts, as well as variablerate contracts. The OCC said the company’s rates ranged from$3.39/Mcf to $6.64/Mcf. When Columbia Gas was forced to step in,Summit’s customers were forced to pay Columbia’s higher rate. Whenthe switch occurred, Columbia Gas’ rate was $0.7375/100 cf,currently, its regulated rate is notched at $0.86478/100 cf.

Robert S. Tongren, of Consumers’ Counsel said, “The OCC remainssupportive of the opportunity to choose a natural gas supplier;however, the recent volatility of the market precludes residentialconsumers from viable options.” Tongren said late last month thatthere currently was no supplier accepting customers at competitiverates.

Similarly, the group’s complaint against The Energy Cooperativecites charges of ÿfailure to deliver gas and other tariffviolations. The OCC alleges that the cooperative mailed letters to14,000 residential customers informing them their gas supplyagreement would be terminated on Oct. 31, 2000, prematurelysendiung customers back to Cincinnati Gas & Electric’s highermarket rate.

After negotiations, the cooperative accepted many of itscustomers back, but refused to reclaim all of them or compensatethem for the difference of CG&E’s higher market rates. Thecomplaint also accuses The Energy Cooperative of not delivering gassince the first of this year, at which time the company wasterminated from CG&E’s choice program. At the time of thecooperative’s termination, its customers were paying an averagefixed contract rate of $3.40/Mcf. CG&E’s rate was $7.41/Mcf.

The complaints come as the fourth action since October 2000 thatthe OCC has taken against suppliers in Ohio’s gas choice programs.The OCC lodged a complaint with PUCO last fall against Energy Max forfailure to deliver gas to its 8,000 residential customers in August(see Daily GPI, Oct. 30, 2000). The OCCalso filed a lawsuit against Columbia Gas choice program participantD&L Gas Marketing for breaching more than 4,500 service contractsin December. Late last month, the OCC requested that PUCO begin aninvestigation into the current state of the natural gas choiceprograms in Ohio.

“We are doing everything within our power to ensure the safetyand success of Ohio’s natural gas choice programs and will continueto seek appropriate compensation for each and every consumeraffected by natural gas suppliers that fail to provide reliablenatural gas service,” said Tongren.

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