Your gas bill is going up in Dayton region: Public meeting scheduled seeking comments

Dayton-area electric utility AES Ohio and natural gas provider CenterPoint Energy have applied to state utility regulators for higher rates in separate regulatory cases, and residents have a chance to voice their opinion on both proposals in upcoming public hearings.

“Although CenterPoint serves 330,000 consumers across 16 Ohio counties, the PUCO has scheduled only a single local public hearing,” the consumers’ office said in a new statement. “CenterPoint’s service territory spans from as far north as Auglaize County to as far south as Highland County.”

“Pay more, speak less — that’s the deal CenterPoint wants, and the PUCO is letting it happen,“ Maureen Willis, agency director of the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, said in a release. ”Ohioans deserve better.”

A message seeking comment was sent to a representative of CenterPoint Energy.

A spokesman for the PUCO reiterated that just one meeting is scheduled and noted that comments may be filed online.

The AES Ohio-focused hearings are scheduled at 1 p.m. Aug. 7, also at the Dayton Municipal Building, and 6 p.m. Aug. 14, at the same location.

CenterPoint Energy last year applied to state regulators to allow the charging of higher rates for natural gas service.

The company said its proposal, if approved, would mean an increase of approximately $23 per month for the “average residential customer.”

Written comments on the rate increase can be addressed to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, 180 E. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio, 43215.

Online comments on the CenterPoint Energy case should refer to case 24-0832-GA-AIR.

Public comments in both cases can also be filed online, and comments on AES Ohio’s proposed increase should reference AES Ohio case docket number 24-1009-EL-AIR.