The City of Canton investigated the impact of Ohio's deregulation law and found that aggregation (combining) natural gas loads and shopping the natural gas market, is the best way to achieve lower costs. State law was written to allow cities to form Municipal Aggregations Without such a program consumers might not be able to save as much money on their own. On August 13, 2001, Canton City Council adopted an ordinance approving the creation of a program that automatically aggregates natural gas consumers within our city limits in order to maximize the buying power of our citizens. In November 2001, voters in the City of Canton authorized us to create this purchasing group. Since that time, we have:

1. become certified by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio as a Government Aggregator
2. approved a Plan of Operation and Governance
3. chosen a provider to be the program's natural gas supplier. Our Governance Plan is on file with the Commission and is available in the Canton Law Department for your review.

The City hired the firm Buckeye Energy Brokers to help explore our options and to seek out the best possible deal for Canton residents and small businesses. Buckeye is working with a number of communities in Ohio who have undertaken similar initiatives. In fact, over 100 communities are recognizing that lower energy rates can be achieved when local governments negotiate on behalf of their residents and businesses. The idea is simply, by coming together, you quickly form a large buying group and recognize the benefits of "buying in bulk".

New customers must be in good credit standing and cannot be part of the utility's Percentage of Income Payment Program (PIPP).

The vast majority of Canton's residents are eligible to participate. All members in the current program and those members supplied by the regulated local utility, Dominion East Ohio (DEO), will be automatically aggregated. Residents who do not fit into one of these categories, and want to join the municipal program should contact Vectren Source for enrollment information by calling this toll-free number 1-866-200-4793.

NOTE: If you are currently served by another supplier, your contract may include a fee or penalty for early termination. Please review your current contract or contact your private supplier.

Residents in the current program will automatically be re-enrolled, and letters will be sent to residents currently not participating in the program.

Letters will be mailed to residents the last week in February and everyone will have 21 days from the postmark date of the letter to opt out of the program by returning the opt-out form, or by contacting Vectren Source at 1-866-200-4793.

You need to know that the City's program is an "Opt-out" program. That means that you will automatically be put in the program unless you opt out by contacting the provider.

Each year in February, a letter is sent to all City residents regarding that year's energy supplier. You can view a sample of that letter HERE.

Ohio's law allows communities to form either an OPT-OUT program where everyone is in unless they take themselves out, or an OPT-IN program where only those who sign up are part of the program. Experience in other states has shown OPT-IN programs to be very expensive to form, and result in limited participation, and hence, little savings.

Vectren Source is a PUCO certified supplier who is serving over 75,000 customers in Ohio and Indiana, with their natural gas. Vectren Source is an unregulated subsidiary of Vectren Corporation, an energy and applied technology holding company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana.

Their contact information is:

Vectren Source

1-866-200-4793 (toll free)

Call Dominion East Ohio at 800-362-7557 if you have service-related problems. If you have billing questions or disputes, start with Dominion East Ohio. If you have questions about the supplier charges, contact Vectren Source at 1-866-200-4793.

NOTE: Please do not call the City of Canton. If you have problems, issues or questions, please contact the utility provider. The City of Canton is not equipped to handle your calls. We only assist in finding a provider. We have nothing to do with the billing or service process and can only refer callers to the phone numbers provided above.