The average monthly natural gas bill in Ohio has doubled since 2020, an analysis of new statewide data shows. 

But the change is even more pronounced over the past two years. Statewide, for a household consuming equal volumes of gas, bills have increased by 84% between last month and May 2024, the low month that year. That’s according to an analysis of state data from the Ohio Utility Rate Survey, which tracks cost inputs from regulated utilities like gas and electric companies. 

Signal Ohio asked different experts the same basic question – why is my gas bill so much higher than it was? Answers varied, but most raised some combination of cold weather, market forces resulting from that cold weather, and cost increases allowed by state regulators. 

The biggest increases fell on the 335,000 customers of CenterPoint Energy in western Ohio, according to analysis from the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel. There, the standard gas rate increased from 58 cents per unit just a few months ago to $1.02 per unit today. That’s an estimated $44 increase per billing cycle.

The next biggest increase fell on the 1.5 million customers of Columbia Gas in central Ohio. The standard gas rate increased from 66 cents per unit to $1.07 per unit. That’s an estimated $41 increase per billing cycle. 

If you assume a Columbia Gas customer uses 5 MCFs of gas per month, which federal officials peg as the national average, that’s a bill increasing from $85 in early 2020 to $118 this month, according to the Ohio Utility Rate Survey. And households likely consume far more gas than that in a month, especially in colder periods. 

For the 1.2 million Enbridge customers in the Cleveland area, bills surged from $63 in January 2020 to $79 last month, using that same data. 

The trend holds if you compare the same month each year. For instance, a gas bill for 10 MCFs of use plus all additional fees cost about $69 in February 2020, $110 in February 2022, and $148 this month.

Why is your gas bill so high?

When asked about the high prices, Matt Schilling, a spokesperson for the regulators of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, answered in five letters: NYMEX. 

The acronym refers to a commodities exchange that tracks prices of, among others, natural gas. It shows gas prices are nearly the highest in more than a decade, with the exception of 2022. 

Winter Storm Fern and other recent cold weather events mean households are using more natural gas. That higher individual consumption increases demand on the distribution system as a whole. 

“Gas prices had been unusually low and have come back up on the spot markets – some of that is due to demand,” said Matt Martin, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, a Cincinnati-area gas and electric utility. “It is reliable baseload generation that is dispatchable. Most of these factors are related to supply and demand.”

The upshot? A NYMEX update posted Thursday shows big price drops are due in March. 

“Columbia Gas, CenterPoint and Enbridge’s [standard choice offer] rates will reflect this for March bills,” Schilling said. 

Tom Bullock, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, which advocates for lower utility prices for residential customers, said demand is up in Ohio due to increased industrial use, along with the cold weather. This can create a “bottleneck” in the pipeline system. And that’s happening while regional production is down due to macroeconomic factors. 

The utility companies, which deliver natural gas but don’t own it, say they don’t reap the profits when there’s a cost spike. 

“It’s important to know that Columbia Gas of Ohio does not profit from these charges,” said Erica Chronaberry, a company spokesperson. “They are simply passed through to customers as we receive them.”

The biggest driver of bill increases is the rising cost of natural gas, according to JP Blackwood, a spokesman for the OCC, a state agency that pushes regulators toward lower utility costs for residential customers. But the PUCO has allowed utilities to raise base rates or tack on one-off extra fees to bills to pay for distribution infrastructure. 

For Enbridge customers using the annualized average 5 MCFs of gas each month, the gas itself is only about 35% of the total utility bill this month, according to the utility rate survey. For customers of most other utilities, it’s closer to a 50-50 split. 

And those charges with esoteric names like the pipeline infrastructure replacement rider, the capital expenditure program rider, or hazardous materials safety administration infrastructure replacement program rider have increased by $15 to $20 in the last few years alone, according to data Blackwood provided. 

“These numbers are very seasonal,” he said. “Demand for natural gas dramatically increases every winter. In general, PUCO-approved distribution rate increases don’t appear to be having as much impact on the current bills as the increase in the commodity prices. Of course, the PUCO-approved rate increases just make a bad situation worse.”

How you can lower your gas bill 

Outside of making your home more energy efficient, there are a few tricks to cut costs or avoid spikes on utility bills. 

For one, Ohio is an “unregulated” utility state, meaning customers can shop for their own gas supplier with its own set of prices and terms instead of the “standard choice offer” the distribution utility company provides. 

Customers can compare their standard choice offer to different suppliers in the marketplace. But beware: some suppliers impose terms like early termination fees or adjustable rates.

The utility companies emphasized their bill assistance programs or others that allow customers to pay a monthly average cost to help avoid spikes during the hottest or coldest months of the year.   

And there are also different bill pay assistance measures like the Home Energy Assistance Program or Percentage of Income Payment Plans for lower income earners. 

This story was updated to include additional month-to-month cost comparisons.