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I was doing an annual review of my natural gas bills recently and came across some interesting facts that I suspect very few Marietta residents know.
In 2024, the City of Marietta entered into a municipal natural gas aggregation agreement with Eastern Power and Gas that was supposed to provide residents with a fixed price of $3.85 per MCF.
Eastern subsequently told the city it could no longer perform under that contract. In March 2025, Marietta City Council approved an amendment that ultimately replaced our fixed-price protection with a variable rate tied to Enbridge’s monthly Standard Choice Offer, less five cents per MCF, exposing residents to market-price fluctuations. Contemporary reporting in the Marietta Times largely presented Eastern’s inability to perform, and the resulting restructuring, as though Marietta had little practical alternative.
During the 12 months I reviewed, my gas commodity rate moved from $3.28 to $3.83, then $4.87, $5.14 and ultimately $7.91 per MCF in February 2026 -- exactly when I used the most gas.
Had the original $3.85 fixed price remained in effect, I would have spent hundreds of dollars less during the 12-month review period.
At first, I assumed Eastern’s financial problems simply left Marietta with no meaningful alternative. Then I discovered what happened in Cortland, Ohio.
Cortland was dealing with the same supplier at essentially the same time. Eastern also attempted to renegotiate Cortland’s fixed-price aggregation agreement. Cortland officials reviewed the contract, concluded Eastern had not established a contractual basis for abandoning the fixed rate, refused the proposed change and filed a complaint with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
Eastern backed down, and Cortland residents retained their $3.75 per MCF fixed rate through September 2026.
What makes the comparison even more remarkable is that Cortland is roughly half the size of Marietta. The smaller city found sufficient leverage to enforce its agreement.
And the story did not end there.
Eastern Power and Gas remains in business, and Cortland is continuing to do business with Eastern. Beginning in October 2026, Cortland residents are being offered another fixed-price agreement with Eastern at $4.55 per MCF.
Marietta’s current aggregation agreement with Major Energy is $4.62 per MCF.
In other words, Cortland challenged Eastern, preserved its $3.75 contract when Eastern attempted to renegotiate it, and then obtained a subsequent fixed rate that is still lower than Marietta’s.
Marietta residents got something quite different.
I do not know everything that occurred during Marietta’s deliberations, nor have I reviewed the underlying agreements, and perhaps city officials had valid reasons for their approach. But residents are entitled to ask a simple question:
Why was a city roughly half our size willing and apparently able to enforce its fixed-price agreement with Eastern while Marietta agreed to transfer the risk of volatile natural gas prices to its residents?
This was not an academic difference. In February 2026, my Marietta aggregation rate was $7.91 per MCF while Cortland residents were still paying $3.75.
Municipal aggregation is sold to residents on the premise that collective purchasing power can provide price protection and stability. When the supplier decides a fixed-price contract is no longer economically attractive, the municipality should be prepared to defend the bargain it made on behalf of its residents.
Cortland did.
Marietta residents deserve to know why the City chose a different course.
Randall A. Mason
Marietta