Current participants of the City of Bowling Green’s natural gas aggregation program will see an increase in their bill from Volunteer Energy Services Inc. for natural gas consumed during the February usage period, and the city is pursuing remedies to the situation.
Volunteer Energy Services Inc. is the competitive retail gas supplier that provides the natural gas that is delivered to the aggregation participants. Volunteer Energy has already begun to send out the March bills, which include an additional charge.
Volunteer Energy’s rationale for the increased charge is that, due to the extreme cold during the period of Feb.5 through Feb. 20, they were forced to purchase significant quantities of natural gas from the spot market to meet increased customer demand and that the cost of those purchases was significantly higher than normal.
Volunteer Energy has stated that this additional increase in rate would be for one month only.
As the natural gas program aggregator for customers in Bowling Green, the city does not agree that Volunteer Energy has the ability to increase customers’ rates in this manner. After a preliminary review, the City of Bowling Green Utilities Department believes that this is a breach of its contract and is reviewing options to take the necessary steps to protect program participants, including obtaining refunds to those customers for all bills that have been paid.
Bowling Green is working with AMPO Inc., the city’s administrator of the natural gas aggregation program, to take the appropriate actions in concert with the city. These actions will include pursuing remedies to ensure that participants are made whole. In the meantime, customers should pay their bill to ensure they do not incur late charges.
Questions may be directed to the Utilities Director’s Office by calling 419-354-6246.
