Arctic blast sends Columbia Gas Ohio rates soaring 35%. Fixed-rate plans offer 40% savings over utility’s $1.071/ccf price.
COLUMBUS, OH, UNITED STATES, February 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Bitter January Cold Drives February Gas Bills Higher
As Columbus natural gas rates spike this February, Columbia Gas Ohio hiked its default supply rates 35% on February 1. Therefore, OHEnergyRatings.com is warning all residential Columbia Gas customers that bills could burn through their bank accounts!
The extreme cold at the end of January sent natural gas commodity prices surging up. On February 1, Columbia Gas Ohio hiked their default supply rates by 35%.
Find the full press release here: https://www.ohenergyratings.com/about-us/press/columbia-gas-ohio-rates-increase-35-percent-in-2026
Why Ohio Natural Gas Prices Spiked
As most homeowners know from their past heating bills, their natural gas demand is highest during the cold months of January and February. But demand has risen further this year due to LNG exports and the energy need from data centers. When Winter Storm Fern brought an Arctic blast into Ohio, demand for heat and power soared. And by January 28, natural gas commodity prices were flying high as well:
• The natural gas spot market average price shot to $9.03 per mmBTU.
• Gas markets in New York and New England spiked even higher, rising to more than $40.
• The February NYMEX natural gas contract price finalized at $7.460 per mmBTU, nearly twice as high as January.
And because the price to compare is a pass through price for the natural gas, all four of Ohio’s major gas utilities will be passing this high cost onto their Price to Compare customers. As a result, Columbia Gas PTC customers will pay a rate of $1.071 per ccf.
This means a PTC customer using 100 ccf per month will pay $107.10 in supply charges to Columbia Gas. Delivery charges and taxes could add a further $125, making their total bill amount to more than $230. Some households in Columbus and elsewhere will likely pay even more.
What Columbia Gas Utility Customers Can Do
For this reason, OHEnergyRates.com urges all residential natural gas customers to RUN, DO NOT WALK, from the Columbia Gas Ohio’s Price to Compare service and to lock in a fixed rate plan with a certified natural gas provider. When customers shop providers and compare gas rates apples to apples, they could find substantially cheaper rates than those offered by their local natural gas utility.
By shopping for fixed rate plans now, Ohio natural gas consumers can lock in the best natural gas prices for 6 months or even longer. Right now, Columbia Gas Ohio customers can find fixed rates 40% less than the utility’s soaring $1.071 per ccf PTC rate!
Not only does this help them avoid price spikes from other storms this winter but also gas price shocks that may happen later this year from LNG exports and data centers.
OHEnergyRates.com is a website operated by Electricity Ratings, LLC.
Electricity Ratings, LLC operates a network of energy shopping websites serving 17 states and 56 utilities, providing our energy comparison and ratings service to over 80 million customers. We provide our customers with the power to choose the best providers through our consumer reviews platform which provides a reliable, unbiased source of valuable consumer insight. And we back that up by offering in-depth energy company service analysis, personalized recommendations, and practical advice. Our mission is to help consumers harness the power of information to find, compare, and buy electricity and energy services from the best providers.
###
https://www.ohenergyratings.com
(866) 303-9147
Vernon Trollinger
OHEnergyRatings.com
email us here
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
