Apples to Apples Ohio Gas: PUCO's Natural Gas Chart

What are the apples to apples gas rates in Ohio?

The defaults on file for today are Columbia Gas at $0.525 per Ccf, Duke Energy Ohio gas at $1.0147 per Ccf and CenterPoint Energy Ohio at $0.486 per Ccf, each in the unit its chart prints. We have no figure for today for Enbridge Gas, so read that default on PUCO's chart. Each gas chart shows the utility's default in a box at the top and the list of supplier offers below it. Offers change often, and PUCO publishes them, so we do not copy them.

Each row links to the utility's chart on PUCO's site, where the offers are, and the blocks below the table show each default and its next change, or a notice where we have no figure for today. Our Apples to Apples guide explains the columns they use. PUCO's charts cover four gas utilities for homes (PUCO's natural gas chart page).

Each gas seller on the chart is a CRNGS provider, short for Competitive Retail Natural Gas Service provider. It competes with your utility's default rate.

What does the box at the top of each gas chart show?

The box at the top of each gas chart shows the utility's default rate and the dates it covers. At Columbia Gas of Ohio, Enbridge Gas Ohio and CenterPoint Energy Ohio, the default is the Standard Choice Offer (SCO). PUCO says it changes monthly with the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) month-end price of natural gas, plus a retail price adjustment set at an auction (How are standard choice offer rates set?).

PUCO's chart names Duke Energy Ohio's default a standard service offer (SSO), which replaced gas cost recovery (GCR) on April 1, 2026 (Duke's historical chart). GCR was a pass-through of the utility's own gas cost. At the SCO utilities PUCO uses the same letters for a second thing: the SSO there is the same rate as the SCO, and you sit on it for one to two billing cycles after you return to the SCO or leave an aggregation (How are standard choice offer rates set?).

Customers on an SCO buy gas from an approved supplier named on the monthly bill, while Duke's SSO customers keep buying from the utility (PUCO's gas bill guide). Either way, the utility delivers the gas. Our natural gas rates guide defines the SCO, SSO and GCR, and our price to compare pages cover each utility's default: Columbia Gas, Enbridge Gas, Duke Energy Ohio gas and CenterPoint Energy Ohio.

What do Mcf and Ccf mean on the gas chart?

Mcf. One thousand cubic feet of natural gas, the unit some utilities bill in.

Ccf. One hundred cubic feet of natural gas, the unit other utilities bill in.

One Mcf is ten Ccf. A utility's chart prints the rate in the unit that utility bills in, so the same price looks ten times bigger in Mcf than in Ccf. That is the mistake to avoid when you set an offer beside the default.

Columbia Gas of Ohio's default is $0.525 per Ccf. In Mcf terms that is $5.250 per Mcf. To compare a Ccf rate with an Mcf rate, multiply the Ccf rate by ten.

What period does each gas chart's default cover?

PUCO says the Standard Choice Offer changes monthly, and Duke's standard service offer is a monthly variable rate too. The dates differ by utility, so the list gives the period we hold for each one.

• Columbia Gas. The current period is September 28 – October 26, 2026, so the next one starts October 27, 2026.
• Enbridge Gas. The last rate we recorded for Enbridge Gas Ohio was $3.607 per Mcf, for September 10 – October 8, 2026. Check PUCO's chart for the new one.
• Duke Energy Ohio gas. The current period is October 1 – November 1, 2026, so the next one starts November 2, 2026.
• CenterPoint Energy Ohio. The current period is October 1 – October 31, 2026, so the next one starts November 1, 2026.

A fixed offer holds its rate for its term, while the default can move each month, up or down. PUCO says you can also get text alerts when the SCO changes, so you do not have to check the chart by hand.

How do you read a gas offer on the chart?

A gas row has the same columns as an electric one: supplier, rate, rate type, renewable content, intro price, term, early termination fee, monthly fee and promo offers. Start with the rate type, because the default moves monthly and a variable offer can too.

• Rate and unit. Check whether the chart prints per Ccf or per Mcf, and match it to the default's unit.
• Rate type. A fixed rate holds for a set time. A variable rate can change under the supplier's terms.
• Term and early termination fee (ETF). An ETF is the charge for leaving before the term ends. Know what it would cost before you sign.
• Monthly fee. A flat fee weighs more in months when you use little gas.

Take a made-up winter month of 100 Ccf and a made-up summer month of 20 Ccf, which equal 10 Mcf and 2 Mcf. These are examples, not Ohio averages and not your usage. Use Columbia Gas of Ohio's default of $0.525 per Ccf. A made-up fixed offer is $0.030 per Ccf lower, at $0.495 per Ccf, and it adds a monthly fee of $10.00.

In the winter month the fee adds $0.100 per Ccf, which is more than the $0.030 per Ccf rate gap. The made-up offer costs less than the default only above about 333 Ccf in a month. Your own usage decides it, and the chart's rate column does not show that.

What do gas offers leave out?

A supplier's rate covers the gas itself. PUCO's gas bill guide defines a supplier's "current offer" as leaving out sales tax, the local utility transportation charge and customer service charges, and says county sales tax is not in a supplier's total rate. Your utility keeps billing delivery whichever supplier you pick.

Ask each supplier for the full price, its term and its fees in writing. Then add them up the way the example above does.

What should you ask a gas supplier before you sign?

Ask the supplier directly, because the chart cannot answer everything. PUCO's What to Ask Suppliers checklist for gas covers these points, among others.

• What is the price per Ccf or per Mcf?
• Is there a budget plan, and can a customer already on the utility's budget plan join it?
• Does the price depend on how much gas I use, or when I use it?
• Is there a switching fee, and what do you charge if I cancel early?
• How long does the rate last, and what happens when it ends?
• Who bills me, and will I get one bill or two?

Winter is when a gas bill is biggest, so ask how the price, the monthly fee and any budget plan work in those months. Ask for the unit in every price you hear, since a Ccf price and an Mcf price differ by a factor of ten.

What happens after you pick a gas offer?

You sign up with the supplier, which contacts your gas utility for you. The utility mails a confirmation notice. You have seven business days from the postmark date on that notice to cancel by phone or in writing (Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-29-10). PUCO's plain-language pages say "seven days," but the gas rule says business days, so go by the rule.

Customers of municipal and co-op gas systems are outside the program, and so are customers in PIPP Plus. If your city, township or county runs an opt-out gas program, which Ohio law calls governmental aggregation, you may already be enrolled. Our guide to Ohio energy choice covers who can shop and how aggregation works.

Is a fixed gas offer worth it when the default changes every month?

The default is a monthly variable rate, so it moves with the market. Some people want a fixed offer for steady bills. These checks show when staying on the default may suit you better.

• Compare with recent months. Open the SCO or SSO historical chart linked from your utility's chart, such as Duke's. If every fixed offer on the chart sits above the recent months of the default, a fixed price is a bet that the default will rise.
• Watch the monthly fee. A fee can erase a lower rate when you use little gas. In the example above, the made-up offer costs less only above about 333 Ccf a month.
• Think about moving. You may move before the term ends, and an early termination fee may apply.
• Check eligibility. PUCO says customers in PIPP Plus are not eligible for the energy choice program (PUCO's SCO page).

See natural gas rates in Ohio for the defaults by utility, or Ohio natural gas suppliers if you want to compare. The electric chart has its own guide, Apples to Apples Ohio electric.