Wednesday, March 01, 2000
Chamber plan helps cut natural gas bills
Deregulation allows users to shop now
BY MIKE BOYER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce is offering its members the opportunity to save up to 15 percent on their natural gas bills.
The chamber has teamed with Volunteer Energy of Columbus, a unit of First Energy Corp., to offer the program to chamber members and their employees.
The discounts range from 5 to 15 percent depending on a customer's gas usage. The program is available to chamber members in Brown, Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties.
Under the natural gas deregulation program approved by state regulators, residential and business customers can shop among different gas suppliers, although delivery, service and meter reading continues to be provided by Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co.
Ginny Reid, the chamber's vice president of member benefits, said an energy-cost savings program was a top priority in a recent member assessment conducted by the chamber.
“Our goal is to sign up a few hundred customers in the first year,” she said.
That number is expected to grow next January, when Ohio allows customers to shop for their electric supplier as well.
Ms. Reid said the chamber evaluated proposals from 20 different suppliers before choosing Volunteer. Cinergy Resources, the non-regulated subsidiary of CG&E's parent Cinergy Corp., wasn't among them because it is focusing on transporting gas rather than marketing it.
Volunteer has more than 30,000 customers in the Midwest. Its commercial customers include McDonald's, Wendy's, BP Oil, Ford Motor and Hyatt Hotels.
Under the chamber program, customers can choose either variable or fixed-rate pricing, depending on their risk-tolerance, Ms. Reid said.
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