PLEASE SEE EXPLANATION REGARDING GAS AGGREGATION
The City of Reading has worked closely with our energy consultant Energy Alliances to evaluate options for renewing the program beyond June 2022. Due to a significant increase in energy prices since summer 2021 and particularly this past winter, Energy Alliances has recommended to the City Council not to lock into any prices at this time and to have all accounts on the program go back to Duke’s GCR rate starting with their July 2022 bill.
Why did Energy Alliances make this recommendation?
A combination of a cold winter high demand and low storage, not to mention geopolitical tensions in Europe, have drove natural gas prices to their highest levels in several years.
Locking in a price now to keep the program going through the summer of 2022 would force the City Council to lock into historically high prices for 2022 and beyond.
Sending accounts back to Duke’s default rates for the summer gives Energy Alliances and communities leader time to evaluate the market to see if prices come down before the winter. Since the average resident consumes only 7% of their annual natural gas usage during the months of July – October. Finding a favorable rate for the Winter of 2023 is most important.
What do residents have to do?
· Nothing must be done. The change will occur automatically.
· Accounts will receive a letter from Duke notifying them of the change after the utility is notified of the change by Constellation NewEnergy, the supplier of the aggregation program. They will start sending accounts back to Duke in early May, effective for June. This process will continue until all accounts are returned to Duke by mid-June.
Will the program return?
· We hope to restart the program and residents will then see opt-out letters for the new program mailed to eligible accounts in August 2022.
· Energy Alliances will continue to monitor the market and work closely with the community to lock in a price as soon as market conditions are right.
If you have any questions regarding the community’s aggregation program, you can reach out to Energy Alliances in several ways:
Phone: 513-794-5555
Email: ops@energyalliances.com
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