The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Ohio utilities companies in what consumer advocates are calling a cemented win for Ohio electricity customers.
The decision upholds a January 2025 ruling in favor of the Ohio Consumers Counsel (OCC), who argued Ohioans were paying unnecessary fees to utility companies like American Electric Power Ohio, Duke Energy and others. The ruling saves Ohio electricity consumers, the OCC estimates, roughly $400 million through 2031.
At the center of the legal battle was what’s known as an “RTO adder,” first raised by OCC to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2022. It’s a 50-point basis charge meant to encourage utility companies to participate in a regional transmission organization (RTO), an entity that manages electric power grids across multiple states. That charge was passed on to consumers, OCC argued.
But in Ohio, utility companies are already required by law to participate in an RTO. This meant that there was “no real incentive” according to OCC, and was “only inflating utility profits and increasing consumer bills.”
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit agreed with FERC’s 2022 ruling, but the utility companies appealed again to the U.S. Supreme Court, who declined to review the case.
“This is a huge win for Ohio consumers. For too long, utilities have padded their profits with unnecessary charges. Now, hundreds of millions of dollars will stay in the pockets of the people who actually pay the bills,” said Maureen Willis, OCC agency director, in an emailed statement.
AEP Ohio, central Ohio’s electric utility company, did not respond to requests seeking comment Nov. 11.
The denial comes at a time where central Ohio consumers have voiced their frustrations over AEP Ohio’s reporting of record profits and their own spiking electric bills.
Business and consumer issues reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Supreme Court cements millions in savings for Ohio electric customers by declining appeal
Reporting by Samantha Hendrickson, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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