Canfield council tables vote on citywide natural-gas aggregation after residents press for clarifications

Canfield City Council on Tuesday tabled two agenda items that would have approved a natural-gas aggregation program using a variable wholesale index plus a fixed adder offered by supplier IGS, after residents and council members asked for clearer comparisons, participation figures and unit clarifications.

The proposal was presented by Bill Belish, identified in the meeting as president of Buckeye Energy Brokers, who described the city's offer as “NYMEX ... plus, 25.6¢” and said that, based on current futures markets, the city’s aggregated price would be lower than Columbia Gas. Belish said the adder would be fixed for a proposed two-year term and that the program could later be converted to a fixed price if the market made that advantageous.

Residents attending the meeting pressed for concrete numbers and for clarity about measurement units. Gary Stanko, who identified himself as a resident, pointed to the city-published rate and said it was being presented as “0.747 ... 74¢ per 100 cubic feet,” and repeatedly urged council to verify whether prior figures included differing units or decimal-place differences. Stanko also said some fixed-rate offers on the open market had appeared substantially lower and asked how many Canfield households participate in the city’s aggregation program; the participation percentage was not…