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PUC To Review Previously Issued Government Aggregation Certificate After Concerns Raised; Rehearing Of Certificate Issuance Granted (Retail Supplier, Pricing Already Selected)
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In response to a rehearing request, the PUC of Ohio will further review the application of Newton Township, Ohio, for certificate as a natural gas governmental aggregator
Newton Township had filed its application on December 4, 2025, and, via the statutory provision which grants automatic approval after 30 days if the application is not otherwise suspended by PUCO, Newton Township was certified as a natural gas governmental aggregator on January 5, 2026
Prior to January 5, 2026, no party appears to have filed opposition to the certification
On January 30, Palmer Energy Company, Inc. filed for rehearing of the automatic approval, alleging that Newton Township, "did not provide
(1) an appropriate ordinance/resolution authorizing a ballot initiative regarding a Township opt-out aggregation program, (2) any demonstration or indication that the requisite election was held
so that the Township’s residents could vote on whether the Township should form a Township governmental aggregation program, or (3) a properly adopted operation and governance plan for
a Township-specific governmental aggregation program." [emphasis by Palmer]
Palmer Energy Company alleged that the law provides that, "The Board of Township Trustees of a township may adopt a resolution for the Board to
aggregate automatically, subject to opt-out requirements, the natural gas loads that are located
within the Township if the question of the authority of the Township to aggregate is given to the
electors of the Township."
Palmer Energy Company alleged, "Newton Township does not appear to have ever put the question of
whether the Township could create its own aggregation program and whether the Township has
the authority to act on behalf of its residents to aggregate the load of the Township to the
Township’s electors.
Consequently, the Application was woefully deficient, and, as such, should
not have been approved."
Palmer Energy Company further alleged that Newton Township's application, "was deficient on its face," and alleged that Newton Township, "may not have authority to even
file a CRNGS application."
Palmer Energy Company alleged that on November 4, 2008, the voters of Trumbull County (the County), including those living
in Newton Township (the Township), approved a ballot initiative granting the County the authority
to aggregate the retail energy and natural gas loads located in the unincorporated areas of the
County.
Palmer Energy Company alleged that, "the Township seemed to rely on the County’s 2008 resolution authorizing
a County aggregation program as authority to authorize the Township’s proposed Township
aggregation program. But this was neither appropriate nor allowable under the statute."
Palmer Energy Company alleged that the Township participated in the County-wide aggregation program for
over a decade
Palmer Energy Company argued that, "had the Township wanted to
establish a Township aggregation program independent of the existing County aggregation program, then the Township should have passed its own resolution authorizing the formation of a
Township aggregation program, conducted its own referendum to approve the ballot initiative, and
then gone through the necessary resolution, notice, hearing, and adoption procedures for an O&G
Plan."
Palmer Energy Company said that, in light of such, PUCO should have suspended automatic approval of the government aggregation certificate
Buckeye Energy Brokers, which serves as a consultant for Newton Township, filed comments in opposition to Palmer Energy Company's rehearing request
Buckeye alleged that, "On December 15, 2021, Trumbull County Commissioners passed legislation for a natural gas
agreement with Constellation NewEnergy for the period of March 1, 2022 to February 28,
2026 on the behalf of participating townships."
Buckeye alleged that, "Newton Township and all other participating
areas have no commitment to Trumbull County after that. There is no Trumbull County
Program agreement."
Buckeye alleged that, "Trumbull County never had a 'county-wide' energy program."
PUCO granted rehearing, first granting Palmer leave to file for rehearing, even after automatic approval, with PUCO stating, "Based upon the unique facts and circumstances presented in Palmer’s motion for leave, particularly the 30-day automatic approval process for applications provided for by R.C. 4929.20, the Commission finds that Palmer’s failure to enter an appearance prior the automatic approval of the Township’s application was due to just cause and that Palmer’s interests were not adequately considered in the proceeding."
Addressing the substance of Palmer's request, PUCO said, "Palmer has raised sufficient questions regarding the application to warrant a hearing to address the issues raised by Palmer in the application for rehearing."
PUCO directed an ALJ to issue a procedural schedule to address the proceeding on rehearing
According to an opt-out form, Eastern Power and Gas was selected to serve the Newton Township aggregation, which includes residential and small commercial customers on an opt-out basis. The aggregation rate is $4.70 per Mcf fixed for March 2026 (April 2026 billing) through September 2027 (October 2027 billing)
On the same day that PUCO granted rehearing (Feb 18), a trustee for Newton Township wrote PUCO requesting that PUCO, "proceed with the approval of the
Newton Township Natural Gas Certification."
The trustee wrote, "On the basis of this [previously granted automatic] certification, Newton Township
solicited offers from competitive retail natural gas suppliers and chose
Eastern Power & Gas. The rate was lower than the Trumbull County program
and letters were docketed on January 23rd and mailed 10 days later.
Newton Township trustees are the proper representatives for the township's
residential and commercial customers. We have duly enacted resolutions
authorizing Eastern Power & Gas to supply our aggregation program for the
benefit of our citizens."
The trustee requested that Palmer's rehearing request, "not in any
manner delay, to the detriment of Newton Township, the operation of its
governmental aggregation program."
Case 25-1142-GA-GAG
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February 18, 2026
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Copyright 2026 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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