PUCO orders FirstEnergy to lower rates for Ohio Edison customers

• The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ordered FirstEnergy to decrease distribution rates for Ohio Edison customers. The utility can still appeal the decision.
• FirstEnergy spokeswoman Lauren Siburkis said via email that the company could not immediately discuss impacts on customer bills.
• The commission also ordered FirstEnergy to stop compounding late fees on March 19, four months after its order.

FirstEnergy’s bid to increase electricity distribution rates for customers of its Ohio Edison subsidiary has backfired with Ohio utility regulators, who’ve ordered the company that powers much of Greater Akron to lower its rates instead.

The Akron-based utility can appeal the decision. The amount of customer savings due to the lower rates and the dates they would take effect are not yet publicly available.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) stated in its Nov. 19 order that Ohio Edison must set rates to decrease annual revenues by $17.4 million. Ohio Edison’s distribution territory includes most of Summit and Portage counties, parts of Stark, Medina and Wayne counties and other portions of Ohio.

FirstEnergy operates two other electric subsidiaries in Ohio — The Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison. PUCO ordered Toledo Edison to lower rates to cut revenues by $24.4 million. The agency ordered The Illuminating Company to increase rates to raise annual revenues by $75.9 million.

The commission also ordered FirstEnergy to stop compounding late fees on March 19, four months after its order.

Customer bill impacts, timing of new rates remain to be seen

FirstEnergy spokeswoman Lauren Siburkis said via email the company could not immediately provide impacts on customer bills. She cited its rates team’s focus on calculating refunds due to customers following another PUCO order: PUCO on Nov. 19 also ordered FirstEnergy to calculate restitution for the utility’s rule violations and misuse of ratepayer money as part of the House Bill 6 bribery scandal.

FirstEnergy will need to file paperwork to PUCO, and the timeline for when the new rates will go into effect will be established at a later date, agency spokesman Matt Schilling said.

FirstEnergy previously sought higher rates, can seek rehearing

The utility sought to raise rates for Ohio Edison consumers in the distribution rate case, which brought stakeholders to an April public hearing in Akron. Tallmadge Mayor Carol Siciliano-Kilway and Ohio Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, were among the public officials and others opposing the rate hike during the hearing.

FirstEnergy can request a rehearing on PUCO’s Nov. 19 order on distribution rates, Schilling said.

“Any party to the case has 30 days to seek rehearing,” Schilling said. “To be successful in rehearing, the party must demonstrate how the commission’s order is either ‘unreasonable or unlawful.’ After the Commission issues a rehearing order, any party still upset can appeal directly to the Supreme Court of Ohio within 60 days of the Commission’s rehearing order.”

After new rates are determined and take effect, FirstEnergy will have until the end of December 2029 to file its next distribution rate case.

PUCO, Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel release statements

PUCO Chair Jenifer French said in a prepared statement that the agency, through its order on distribution rates, “… provided the tools necessary to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of service by FirstEnergy to its customers.”

“We recognize that FirstEnergy has a duty to provide that safe and reliable service to its customers,” French continued. “Whether it be through investments in the grid or proper vegetative management, FirstEnergy is expected to provide reliable service at fair prices as directed through today’s order.”

Maureen Willis, director of the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, which advocates on behalf of residential utility consumers, also issued a prepared statement.

“After the HB 6 scandal, Ohioans deserved real relief,” Willis said. “The evidence showed that consumers across all three FirstEnergy territories – including Cleveland Illuminating – should be seeing rate decreases. Instead, many FirstEnergy consumers will be paying more. Ohio families are struggling with costs, and they need a Commission that puts affordability front and center.”

Patrick Williams covers growth and development for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at pwilliams@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @pwilliamsOH. Sign up for the Beacon Journal’s business and consumer newsletter, “What’s The Deal?”