Any residential customer of Dominion East Ohio whose gas service
has been disconnected, or is in danger of loss of service due to nonpayment,
may restore service or avoid disconnection under special winter heating reconnection
procedures in effect now through April 13, 2007.
In accordance with a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio order,
Dominion East Ohio customers can maintain gas service, or have it restored,
by choosing one of the following options, whichever is lowest:
Pay the entire past-due balance shown on the bill;
Pay past-due default amount if a customer is on a special payment plan;
Pay $175;
If a customer’s service has already been disconnected, the customer
must pay the $175, and an applicable reconnection fee to restore service.
There is no income eligibility requirement to use this program,
but customers will be enrolled in a payment plan to help pay off any past-due
balance. The reconnection procedure can only be used once between now and April
13, 2007.
To take advantage of the reconnection procedure, customers
should call Dominion East Ohio at 1-800-950-7989.
Customers seeking Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) information,
should call the Office of Community Services at 1-800-282-0880.
Dominion East Ohio reminds all of its customers of the availability
of various energy assistance programs and payment options to help with upcoming
winter heating bills, or past-due balances.
Budget Billing
With the Budget Billing Plan, customers pay
a fixed budget amount each month. Dominion East Ohio will review the budget
amount periodically, and adjust it, if necessary, so that the customer won’t
have a high bill or large credit at the end of the budget year. Customers must
be current with their bill to be eligible for the budget billing option. To
sign up, customers should call Dominion East Ohio at 1-800-362-7557.
Payment Plans
Dominion East Ohio also offers to eligible customers the Current-Plus
Plan to help better manage gas bills. First, the customer decides how
many months—up to six—it will take to pay off their balance. Then
the company divides the total account balance by the number of months the customer
selected, and adds that amount to the customer’s current monthly bill.
The Current-Plus Plan is available to all residential customers who are not
enrolled in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP). With the One-Third
Payment Option, a payment of one-third of the total account balance
is accepted to reconnect or prevent disconnection from November 1, 2006, to
April 13, 2007. To learn more about these payment options, call Dominion East
Ohio at 1-800-362-7557.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy,
with an energy portfolio of about 28,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion also
serves retail energy customers in 11 states. For more information about Dominion,
visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
