According to Cinergy Corp., customers of its Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co. and the Union Light, Heat and Power Co. affiliates will see significant reductions in natural gas prices for the winter period, compared with last year under filings made by the companies with state regulatory agencies in Ohio and Kentucky. The company claimed that customers of CG&E in Ohio can expect natural gas prices to be 30% below the winter period a year ago, while ULH&P customers in Kentucky will experience a reduction of 18% from last year.

“Last winter’s increase in natural gas prices spurred an increase in the drilling of gas wells, which has made additional gas supplies available this winter,” said L.C. Randolph, vice resident of gas operations. “At the same time as the availability of natural gas was increasing, the economic downturn has reduced the demand for natural gas. The result has been a decrease in gas prices on the wholesale market since last winter through the summer and fall.”

In Ohio, CG&E said the typical residential customer using 25,000 cf of gas per month during the winter would see a $74.50 decrease in their monthly bill to $172.16 beginning Dec. 1 from last winter’s bill of $246.66. Of the $172.16, $120.00 is the gas cost recovery portion, which is CG&E’s actual cost of gas that is passed through to the customer. When compared with the current quarter, the monthly bill for 25,000 cf of natural gas will go down 4.1% from the current monthly gas bill of $179.56.

In Kentucky, ULH&P said the typical residential customer using 25,000 cf of gas per month would see a $47.10 decrease to $213.70 in their monthly bill beginning Dec. 1 from last winter’s bill of $260.80. Of the $213.70, $142.08 is the gas cost recovery portion, which is ULH&P’s actual cost of gas that is passed through to the customer. When compared with the current quarter, the monthly bill for 25,000 cf of gas will go down 3.8% from the current monthly gas bill of $222.08.

Cinergy/CG&E and Cinergy/ULH&P are also encouraging customers to enroll in several programs designed to help them make paying their energy bills more convenient, manageable, and predictable. These programs include:

Cinergy added that customers looking for ways to reduce their bills by managing their energy use have the following programs available to them:

CG&E also said its Gas Customer Choice program gives all CG&E gas customers the opportunity to choose an alternative natural gas supplier, allowing customers to shop for the gas pricing structure that best meets their needs. For more information concerning the gas customer choice program go to Cinergy’s website at www.cinergy.com.

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