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CPP arbitration panel starts hearings as council presses for infrastructure upgrades after outages
Summary
Committee members learned the Cleveland Public Power arbitration panel has begun hearings for billing disputes and pressed the administration for increased funding to address brownouts, streetlight outages and other CPP reliability issues ahead of the city budget cycle.
The Utilities Committee was told that the Cleveland Public Power (CPP) arbitration panel established in February 2024 has held its first hearing and is operational for customers who wish to dispute bills. The committee heard multiple members press the administration for increased funding to address recurring brownouts, streetlight outages and other reliability concerns ahead of the upcoming budget cycle.
"The CPP arbitration panel is up and running, for for, anybody who wants to dispute their bills," the director of public utilities announced to the committee. Several council members described recent power interruptions and flickering streetlights in specific neighborhoods and asked CPP and department leadership to investigate and prioritize repairs before winter.
One council member said an out-of-state developer told him the Midwest will be an attractive region for investment and that utilities will be a deciding factor for data centers and other large users; the council member urged continued attention to power, water and sewer infrastructure to remain competitive. Committee leadership said it will press for additional funding during the city budget process and asked the department to provide an upgrade list for Cleveland Public Power.
Council members also requested updates on specific streetlight circuits and locations and said they will continue to follow up with the department and the government-affairs manager by email. The committee concluded by asking the administration for a list of candidate upgrades for CPP that the council can evaluate during budget hearings.
