If you find locking in your natural gas rates complicated or confusing, the City of Akron offers a natural gas aggregation program that may make it simpler for you.

The city’s Natural Gas Program uses IGS Energy as its supplier — customers enrolled in the program for 2025 will be charged a fixed rate of $4.55/Mcf, according to a news release from the mayor’s office. The current program rate is $3.81/Mcf. The new rate will be in effect from November of 2025 (December billing) through October of 2026 (November billing).  

If you’d like to shop around a bit, residents and small businesses can check on the open market and sign with a different supplier if they choose, possibly at a lower fixed rate. You can still join the city’s aggregation program later at no additional cost. Natural gas users can also drop out of the city’s aggregation program at any time without a cost. 

Residents who are in the city’s current aggregation program with IGS Energy will automatically be opted in unless they call, email, or mail back to opt out by Oct. 31, 2025.

The city has already mailed opt out letters to current program members and those not under contract. Any Akron resident who is not currently part of the aggregation program who is interested in receiving their natural gas from IGS Energy can call them toll-free at 877-353-0162. 

Enbridge Gas Ohio will be responsible for ensuring the distribution of natural gas to residential premises and continues to maintain the meter, monthly reads and pipelines that deliver natural gas to residents’ homes. Residents’ natural gas bills will also continue to come from Enbridge Gas Ohio.

Residents can join or leave the program at any time without an early termination fee. The current program with IGS Energy will expire with the November billing —customers who do not sign up with a supplier will be switched to Enbridge Gas Ohio and randomly assigned a supplier, the city stated in its release. 

Picking a natural gas supplier in Ohio

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) offers guidance (framed below) on how to pick a natural gas supplier, including by using your local municipality’s gas aggregation program like the one offered by the City of Akron.

Offers from competitive suppliers are updated daily on the PUCO’s Energy Choice Ohio website – be sure to double check the listed rates with the actual supplier before you enter into any agreement. 

Be wary of some online sites (typically ending in .com) that offer energy pricing — they may list only their clients and not provide a comprehensive list of what’s available, potentially at a lower cost.

Make sure suppliers are PUCO-certified

Before entering into an agreement with a potential supplier, make sure the company is on the PUCO’s certified supplier list.

You can obtain a current list of suppliers by calling the PUCO at 800-686-7826. Certified suppliers have met the managerial, technical and financial standards set by the PUCO. The PUCO may take certain actions against suppliers who violate customer protections and rules.

What steps should I take to choose a supplier in Ohio?

  1. Compare offers

The PUCO’s Energy Choice Ohio website provides a regularly updated Apples to Apples comparison chart of the certified suppliers’ offers and information.

  1. Contact suppliers

Contact the suppliers you are most interested in — you can use this worksheet from the PUCO to ask questions. To sign up, simply call the supplier you choose. The supplier will contact your local natural gas utility for you.

  1. Read and understand the supply contract

Make sure you carefully read and understand all of the terms and conditions of your supply contract. The supplier should be able to answer any questions you have.

  1. Receive confirmation

Your local natural gas utility will send you a letter confirming the supplier you have chosen. If the information is correct, you do not have to do anything. If the information is not correct, contact the utility and request that the switch be stopped.

Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.