More Inflation: Natural Gas Up Sharply, Summer Electricity Bills to be Impacted

COLUMBUS, Ohio (News Talk 1480 WHBC) – Even Ohio’s own natural gas is feeling inflationary pressures.

Prices are up 150-percent or around four dollars per mcf from a year ago.

And electricity bills will be impacted because more and more electrical power is produced by burning natural gas.

An Ohio industry association says there are the usual culprits like COVID recovery, the war and overall inflation.

But gas producers are also uncertain about what the Biden administration might do next, with canceled pipelines, delayed permits and more.

For example, the Mountain Valley Pipeline from northwest West Virginia to Virginia is 95-percent complete, awaiting permitting for the remainder of it.

When the oil and gas industry started tapping the Utica Shale here in Ohio over ten years ago, we thought we’d never complain about the price of natural gas again.

And on the distribution side, Columbia Gas has a hearing at Canton City Hall on June 1st, asking for a 21-percent revenue increase from the PUCO.