This story has been corrected to reflect a PUCO order approving increased electric rates for Ohio Edison customer rates.
FirstEnergy will not be granted its full request to increase electricity distribution rates for customers of its Ohio Edison subsidiary. While the company has been approved to increase what it charges, the OK came hand-in-hand with an order to decrease the company’s revenue.
The Akron-based utility can appeal the decision.
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 annual revenues by $24.4 million. The agency ordered The Illuminating Company 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; the commission 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?”
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: PUCO orders Ohio Edison to reduce revenues by $17.4 million
Reporting by Patrick Williams, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
