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Ohio Consumers’ Counsel warns Mentor residents about FirstEnergy distribution rate increase and urges testimony
Summary
Angela O’Brien of the Office of the Ohio Consumers Council told the Mentor City Council that FirstEnergy (Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company) has filed to raise distribution charges and urged residents to file public comments and attend local PUCO hearings.
Angela O’Brien, deputy consumers counsel for the Office of the Ohio Consumers Council, told the Mentor City Council on Jan. 21 that FirstEnergy has filed for a distribution rate increase and urged local residents to participate in the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio process.
O’Brien said the filing covers the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company and described the requested increase as part of a larger FirstEnergy petition that she identified as about $190,000,000. "This is the first rate increase they've requested in about 17 years," O’Brien said, adding that the company is seeking an increase in the distribution charge she described as about $13.20 and that the change would raise an average residential consumer's bill to roughly $186.63 per month from about $173.61.
The nut graf: the rate case affects distribution — the wires and delivery portion of customers’ bills — and not electricity supply, O’Brien said, and the OCC is educating residents so they can testify in local PUCO hearings or file public comments to the record.
O’Brien explained the PUCO process and her agency’s role: the OCC files expert testimony, conducts discovery, and opposes increases it considers unsupported. She said the OCC and PUCO staff have each filed recommendations that differ from the initial utility proposals and that the case remains in evidentiary stages. O’Brien also told the council that Enbridge (formerly Dominion East Ohio) has a pending proceeding that initially sought roughly a 30% increase and later refiled for a smaller amount; both proceedings remain under litigation before PUCO.
O’Brien urged residents to watch the OCC website for local hearing dates and said OCC has requested a virtual local public hearing to permit testimony remotely. "The best way to make your voice heard is to actually show up and testify on the record before a commissioner and an administrative law judge," she said, adding that public comments filed on the PUCO website are part of the official record.
She gave the PUCO case number for Mentor-area customers as case number 24468 and said OCC will post fact sheets and a consumer alert on occ.ohio.gov. O’Brien also encouraged councils to consider passing resolutions against the rate increase and offered to share hearing dates proactively with the city.
No action was taken by the Mentor City Council at the meeting; the OCC presentation was informational and intended to mobilize public comment and testimony at PUCO proceedings.
O’Brien closed by distributing fact sheets and offering to answer questions from council members.
