August 22, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOPEC Locks in Money-Saving Gas Rate for over 180,000 Customers

Customers in the Dominion East Ohio Gas service area who have enrolled in the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council’s natural gas program will pay lower gas rates this winter than last year under a new 5-month fixed price announced today.

The rate was locked in by NOPEC and its contracted supplier, Dominion Retail, on Tuesday. The current price of $10.12 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) will continue through the end of October. The new rate of $9.99 per Mcf will begin in November and continue through the winter months and end at the end of March, 2008.

The offer is not open to the general public. Only customers in NOPEC member communities who are not signed with another supplier are eligible. Over 180,000 customers in 94 NOPEC communities in the Dominion East Ohio service area will benefit from this program.

NOPEC Chairman Joseph Migliorini said he is very pleased that the Board of Directors authorized guidelines for a natural gas purchase plan that gave NOPEC the opportunity to take advantage of a dip in the market. “We haven’t seen prices like this for a year,” said Chairman Migliorini, “We were able to come up with a competitive price that gives our residents in the NOPEC area a very good alternative for the upcoming winter months.”

The offer also continues a variable rate option for NOPEC customers who prefer such a rate. This variable rate option was established in June and will continue through March, 2008, as well. Under this option, the customer’s price will be equal to the monthly last-day NYMEX settlement price plus $1.20 per Mcf. The NOPEC variable rate should be less than Dominion East Ohio’s SSO rate and will be available for the first 10,000 NOPEC customers, who request it. According to NOPEC Executive Director Leigh Herington, “This variable rate is not something that we recommend to our customers, especially in the winter months. But for those that are most comfortable with a variable rate we have it available.”

Mark Frye, president of Palmer Energy Company, which serves as a consultant to NOPEC and recommended gas purchase guidelines, noted that “fixing a price for natural gas with much of the hurricane season before us is a prudent and reasonable thing to do, especially when the price is lower than a year ago.”

NOPEC is a not-for-profit council of governments consisting of 128 communities in nine Northeast Ohio counties. Founded in 2000, it is the nation’s largest public energy aggregation. It uses no tax dollars. About 450,000 customers participate in the NOPEC discount electricity program and about 240,000 customers participate in the NOPEC gas program in the Dominion and Columbia gas service areas. Since its inception, NOPEC has saved its customers more than $70 million on their utility bills.

For questions or more information, please contact:
Leigh Herington, NOPEC Executive Director
330.468.9976

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