5 Suburbs Surprised By Price Of Gas | WBNS-10TV, Central Ohio News

Just like, oil prices, gasoline and other products it's a scam!!! But of course everybody is getting paid under the table and overlook it. These companie show billion dallar profits each year, which is their right to make as much money as they want but a good company gives back to it's community! How about the Government redistribute that instead of taxing the crap out of us for HOPE&CHANGE!

True for this month but what about other months in the Winter. These gas prices can't stay down forever.

Hilliard has a very similar situation. I can't recall the exact amounts, but about six months ago I found out we were paying double the rate offered by our servicing company thanks to Hilliard's wisdom to contract a fixed price.

The good news is, Hilliard residents can call the company and set a contract price for their own service, which is far less than Hilliard's plan.

Ms Moore wrote:

True for this month but what about other months in the Winter. These gas prices can't stay down forever.

If you are a Columbia Gas customer they urge you to call an outside gas supplier. Columbia Gas is the servicer. Once you get a supplier with the best price you can lock that in for 2-3 years. They will take care of setting your account up with Columbia Gas. It may take a couple of billing cycles but it is certainly worth the savings.

It is just getting way tooo costly to live within Franklin Couinty. With sale of our house and a move one county away to same size and price house our monthly taxes drop at least $350.00 plus less for insurance and utilities.
Columbus Metro area isn't worth it anymore. We are saving about $700.00 a mnoth just by moving 20 miles down the road.

I have to disagree about going through a third party provider. Do not do it. It is no different than having an adjustable rate mortgage except in this case you can wind up paying MORE if the price of gas increases. It is better to simply make your payments through Columbia Gas and not get involved in any other company.

I had an apartment in Upper Arlington about 6 years ago, and I kept receiving mail and even people at my door trying to get me to sign some form authorizing them to be my gas provider. Well, I think I missed something as my gas bills doubled overnight. Luckily I moved out of that place the following fall before the next winter season hit. Now that I live in Columbus, my heating bills are more realistic.

Interesting....I just hung up the phone with a negotiated rate better than Dublin got as a group.

Those fixed price deals are definitely a scam... they know when the price of natural gas is going to drop... so they send out scumbags to try and trick people into signing up right before it happens. I live in G-View... they came to my door, I told them to f off.

think twice wrote:

I have to disagree about going through a third party provider. Do not do it. It is no different than having an adjustable rate mortgage except in this case you can wind up paying MORE if the price of gas increases. It is better to simply make your payments through Columbia Gas and not get involved in any other company.
I had an apartment in Upper Arlington about 6 years ago, and I kept receiving mail and even people at my door trying to get me to sign some form authorizing them to be my gas provider. Well, I think I missed something as my gas bills doubled overnight. Luckily I moved out of that place the following fall before the next winter season hit. Now that I live in Columbus, my heating bills are more realistic.

It sounds as though you were a victim of a scam. If you call Columbia Gas they will tell you that they are not a good deal as a supplier and they will refer you to local suppliers. I have always found that Interstate Gas Supply in Dublin is very competitive. They have been my supplier for over 10 years. The .49 per ccf price is only a one month deal for those who have Columbia Gas as their supplier but that is a only for one month. Sounds like they are setting up for the kill for the winter.

James wrote:

<quoted text>
If you are a Columbia Gas customer they urge you to call an outside gas supplier. Columbia Gas is the servicer. Once you get a supplier with the best price you can lock that in for 2-3 years. They will take care of setting your account up with Columbia Gas. It may take a couple of billing cycles but it is certainly worth the savings.

These outside gas supplier's and the contract they peddle are the reason they are locked into these prices. The suburbs listed will have to pay that amount because they "locked" into lower prices during the summer (when hardly anyone uses the gas)now they will have to opt out of the contract (probably at a price) in order to pay a normal price.... if you go to a third party supplier for your gas I hope you had also looked into the contract for your credit cards, cell phones and your ARM mortgage.. going thru a third party is always the same story .... pay a bit smaller price when you dont use the gas that much and in return pay more for the gas when you use it the most

How do we opt out?

Go figure wrote:

Just like, oil prices, gasoline and other products it's a scam!!! But of course everybody is getting paid under the table and overlook it. These companie show billion dallar profits each year, which is their right to make as much money as they want but a good company gives back to it's community! How about the Government redistribute that instead of taxing the crap out of us for HOPE&CHANGE!

You just ranted against capitalism and big business, Hope and Change, and literally asked why these companies aren't "re-distributing" their wealth in the same topic. You realized that you contradicted yourself 3 times there right? Hypocrite.

For those who can afford to and who are planning on keeping their homes, maybe you should think about investing in Wind and Solar power to heat, power and cool your homes.

Considering that the price of Gas and Electric is Always going to rise and Never come down again.

Then the only part of the Grid that you'll be on is for City water and sewage.

Think of the Savings. After the initial investment...who couldn't use an extra $200-300 a month elsewhere ???

Go figure wrote:

Just like, oil prices, gasoline and other products it's a scam!!! But of course everybody is getting paid under the table and overlook it. These companie show billion dallar profits each year, which is their right to make as much money as they want but a good company gives back to it's community! How about the Government redistribute that instead of taxing the crap out of us for HOPE&CHANGE!

It was the GOP who deregulated these companies- They will never "give back" - Exactly what tax are you paying more of under Obama?
It sounds like you would like these companies to pay their fair share
Don't be so blind with the team mentality that "Obama bad, free trade good"

Good story, but Panzaras Pizza would not be affected by the Grandview Heights deal, as it is located in Columbus proper.

Recently we were offered a similar deal with Direct Energy both at the office and at home. They saved quite a lot over the other provider at work but I had Columbia Gas and did not know it was $.49 so it ended up costing me more. I called them to complain after my first bill with Columbia Gas reflecting Direct Energy. They gave me a slight reduction to .799 fixed per CCF but in the contract I found out that to opt out now would give me a cancellation fee of $100. They got me and I don't like that they send out their representative's door to door promising to save you money on your gas bill but they don't tell you Columbia Gas rates. As for work they did lower the price and hopefully we might save money this year. They warned us if we don't sign up by the end of the year the deal changes and prices can go up. Now, we have to remember to call them before the end of the contract. It all sounds like a gimmick.

Annoyed wrote:

How do we opt out?

Sorry they get you. I found out my deal will cost me $100 to opt out early.

They need to get their facts correct. Columbia Gas is 69 cents not 49 cents, and in Gahanna we go down to 82 cents locked in for a year in January. It's still more, but not even close to what they just reported. You have to be careful about what you read. As usual the news doesn't check their facts completely.

Anyone who thinks PUCO is fighting to help protect the consumer is a fool.

Columbia gas called me in the beginning of November and informed me they thought my gas meter was defective and would need replaced. I said "OK.".

I get a bill from them today in the mail for nearly $400.00 saying that my meter had been broken and not reading gas usage for at least a year. They quoted me as using over 700 CCF of gas over a 12 month period. I've never used this much gas in a year's time. In fact I had a roomate in 2006 and 2007 and have lived alone for 2008 and all of 2009. This means my gas usage should be about half in 2008 than it was in 2006 and 2007.

My thermostat is always on 64 degrees during the winter. I take one shower a day (gas hot water heater) and have a gas stove but I hardly cook. I called Columbia gas and they said since my meter was non-functional for a year they estimated my gas usage on a complex formula using the estimated gas usage for my residence and the weather reporting for the year. I then hung up the phone with Columbia Gas and called PUCO. The woman at PUCO was extremely angry and mean woman who basically did nothing but insult me and side with the gas company. She also felt like insulting me for being in college and paying my way through school. Great to hear that PUCO is basically a mouthpiece for the utilities companies rather than the consumer protection group they tout to be.

So I call Columbia gas back up and ask them to send me my 2007,2008 bills showing my actual usage. I decide to calculate my CCF usage for the year of 2006. I calculated actual CCF usage of 230 CCF for gas consumption for the year of 2006. I relay this information to the customer service rep on the phone. She says all they can do is refer it on and give me a 2 to 5 % reduction in the over 700 CCF usage. That would give me about 685 CCF usage estimated for 2008. This is literally almost 3 times the amount of gas I physically used when living with a roommate and now I live alone!

So now I am waiting to speak with a supervisor because one was not available for me to talk to today.

I wonder how many people they are ripping off with this over estimation crap? How is it my responsibility to maintain the working order of their meter? Why did the meter reader not notice a change in the CCF usage in 6 visits to read my meter over a 12 month period? PUCO agreed that by law utility companies are allowed to estimate in cases like these and the consumer must pay whatever estimation they use! How is that for protecting the consumer?