CANFIELD — City Council at a special meeting Tuesday morning approved entering into a gas aggregation agreement with Buckeye Energy Brokers Inc. and with IGS Energy.

The gas aggregation issue came up last week at the regular city council meeting, during which there was confusion over prices and measuring units for the program. A vote at that meeting was tabled and a special meeting was later posted for the issue.

Tom Bellish from Buckeye Energy Brokers Inc. was again on hand to answer any questions about the program.

One of the confusing things about the previous meeting was the use of BTU (British thermal unit) and CCF (centum cubic feet, a unit of measurement for natural gas representing 100 cubic feet of gas used in billing or consumption) in explaining costs and projections.

Bellish was able to explain the program and use the CCF term. He said the rate was calculated using an adder and the price of gas in the New York Mercantile Exchange or NYMEX. The adder is a fixed rate added to the variable rate of NYMEX.

“In the last week of September, the October rate will be set,” Bellish said.

The city’s natural gas aggregation plan for 2026 will begin Oct. 1 and will continue to Sept. 31, 2027. While it starts as a variable rate plan, city officials could lock in a price at any time, which would remain in place for the duration of the program.

“The projections say the costs for natural gas will go down this winter,” Bellish said. “There is a big supply that will serve to drive down prices.”

He explained the city would start the aggregate program Oct. 1 with the variable rates. As Buckeye Energy Brokers Inc., Bellish would be monitoring the prices and would keep the city updated. If and when the price drops low enough, city officials can choose to lock in the price. Once locked in, that price would stay until the end of the program.

“The burden is on Buckeye, not the city, to monitor the prices,” said City Manager David D’Apolito.

Bellish said the adder will be $0.255, and that would be a fixed rate. The NYMEX price for natural gas is what will be changing and is expected to drop after Oct. 1.

Council prepared to vote on the two ordinances and was told by City Attorney Mark Fortunato that an emergency ordinance could only be passed if all four councilmen were to vote yes.

The first ordinance was the agreement between the city and Buckeye Energy Brokers Inc. for aggregation consulting and any other required services.

The ordinance passed 4-0 with Mayor Don Dragish and councilmen Bruce Neff, Mark Graham and Chuck Tieche all in agreement.

The second ordinance was an agreement between the city and IGS Energy as the supplier.

The variable rate will be set on the 15th day of the prior month according to NYMEX, plus the adder of $0.255. The ordinance also passed 4-0.

Both ordinances needed to be in place for the aggregation program to take effect Oct. 1.

Residents will automatically be placed in the program. They can opt out of the program at any time, if they so choose, without a termination fee.