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NOPEC official outlines how aggregation enrollment and opt-out letters work for Strongsville residents
Summary
NOPEC relationship manager Jenny Costanzo explained Ohio's supplier/utility split, the PUCO-required enrollment letters (every three years for electric), optional program terms, grant funding tied to enrollment and NOPEC customer service resources for any resident questions.
Jenny Costanzo, a NOPEC relationship manager, told the Strongsville City Council on April 6 that Ohio’s 2000 deregulation split the utility from the supplier and led to the formation of NOPEC as a council of governments to use bulk purchasing to protect residents from confusing retail offers. “Again, my name is Jenny Costanzo, and I am a NOPEC relationship manager,” she said at the start of her presentation.
Costanzo explained the mechanics residents most control: “the supply part on your bill,” which is calculated as the rate (in cents per kilowatt-hour) multiplied by monthly kilowatt usage. She said NOPEC’s standard program price mirrors the market and that residents eligible for NOPEC enrollment will be placed on that price unless they choose otherwise. Costanzo gave an example showing how a household using 572 kilowatt-hours with a NOPEC rate of 0.893¢ would pay about $51 for the supply portion while larger charges on a bill come from the utility’s distribution charges.
She described how the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) requires an enrollment letter for aggregation participants every three years for electric service and every two years for gas, and clarified that NOPEC cannot send enrollment letters to customers who have chosen a private supplier, who are on programs such as HEAP/PIP, or who have explicitly opted out. “NOPEC by law is not allowed to send an enrollment letter to anybody who has chosen their own supplier or who is in a contract,” she said.
Costanzo outlined program choices NOPEC offers: a standard program price, 12- and 24-month fixed options with no termination fees, and voluntary green-energy products. She also described NOPEC’s grant program, funded through its supplier relationship, which provides $6 per enrolled electric household and $4 per enrolled gas household for local energy-improvement projects. Costanzo said Strongsville currently has about 12,242 households enrolled in NOPEC electric and 9,907 enrolled in NOPEC gas prior to the enrollment letters going out.
On customer help, she handed council a card with a 24/7 customer service number for residents who want to ask why they did or did not receive a letter.
Why it matters: Strongsville residents who receive enrollment letters should know they can opt out and that only the supply portion of their bill (the cents-per-kilowatt rate) is controlled by suppliers; distribution and many tariff charges are set by the utility and not subject to NOPEC’s rate. The city’s partnership with NOPEC also yields small community grant funds earmarked for energy-related improvements.
Costanzo offered to share research on price effects in deregulated states and to follow up with city staff: she said she would send material to the council’s liaison for distribution.
The council thanked Costanzo and agreed to share her contact information with residents and refer specific follow-up questions to her customer service line.
