Zeb Larson is a writer, historian and software engineer. He’s a member of Columbus Stand Up! and lives in Grandview with his wife, son and herd of cats.
Beaux Johnson of Columbus is frustrated about what his electric bill looks like every month. “It feels like this is just a game to AEP,” he said. “They say it’s going to be one thing and it turns out to be another.”
What he pays every month keeps going up, and it’s often buried in a complex web of different charges that make it hard to tell what he’s actually paying for.
He’s not alone.
Residential electricity rates have skyrocketed in the past five years: nationally, they’re up 30% from 2020 and ahead of inflation.
Ohio’s no exception to this, with rate increases 40% larger than the rate of inflation, and Ohioans are suffering as a result. As it turns out, we may have more in store shortly.
AEP is requesting that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio raise rates even higher, despite the fact that many households are buckling under the strain of paying for basic necessities and amenities.
AEP requested and received four rate increases between 2022 and 2024, but apparently this was still not enough.
Why are rates rising?
As prices rise, everybody takes a hit, and the poorest households find themselves choosing between electricity or other basic necessities.
AEP claims that this hike is necessary in order to improve transmission and generation, and there’s some truth to this.
The American Society of Civil Engineers gave energy generation and transmission a D+ in their 2025 Annual Report: The country needs more resilient transmission infrastructure, and Ohio is no exception to this. Without it, we’re vulnerable to power disruptions at especially critical moments such as heatwaves.
A money grab
But AEP is not closely monitored or regulated in the transmission projects it undertakes; PUCO frequently declines to review these projects for cost-effectiveness or necessity.
It can spend the money however it likes and provide little to no relief on pricing in the long run.
Moreover, AEP is not struggling financially. Its third-quarter profits this year nearly topped $1 billion. The idea that it needs another rate hike to afford these transmission upgrades simply falls apart.
AEP has the capital that it needs to build out new infrastructure and make the grid more resilient. This latest rate hike is just another chance to pad their bottom line.
PUCO must put the rubber stamp away
PUCO has not covered itself in glory in the past few years.
The commission has an ugly history of siding with energy providers, including asking auditors to softball their reviews of companies.
Its response to the FirstEnergy scandal was decidedly muted, investigating a few small aspects of the company’s misdeeds while obstructing discovery that would likely have pointed to more serious misdeeds.
Meanwhile, massive companies like Amazon have requested discounted electricity for their data centers in deals that are kept secret by PUCO.
So, what do we want? We want PUCO to hold AEP accountable and not rubber stamp another rate increase that will hit every Ohioan right in the wallet.
Columbus Stand Up is organizing a campaign, Lights Out on AEP with numerous partner organizations to ask that PUCO block this rate increase.
We urge PUCO to take a stand for fairness and public accountability.
What you can do
Ohio’s energy future must be built around equity, sustainability and transparency, not shareholder greed. PUCO has the authority and responsibility to protect the public interest, which means saying no to AEP’s rate increase.
PUCO will be holding two hearings in December, the first at 6 p.m. on Dec. 4 at Columbus Main Library, and the second at 9 a.m. on Dec. 9 at PUCO’s office on 180 E. Broad St. We hope to see people there.
Zeb Larson is a writer, historian and software engineer. He’s a member of Columbus Stand Up! and lives in Grandview with his wife, son and herd of cats.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: It’s just a game. AEP trying to pay bottom line on our backs | Opinion
Reporting by Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
