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Consumer group against Ohio Edison increase
By Betty Lin-Fisher
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Friday, Jan 11, 2008
Ohio Edison customers should be getting a decrease in distribution rates instead of a proposed increase, a consumer watchdog agency said in testimony filed Thursday.
Last summer, Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. requested an increase in distribution rates for its operating companies — Ohio Edison, Cleveland Illuminating Co. (CEI) and Toledo Edison — effective Jan. 1, 2009, before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
The company said it had not asked for an increase in distribution rates for Ohio Edison customers since 1990 and the other two companies since 1997. It is asking for $340 million in annual revenue increases for its three operating companies.
But the Ohio consumers' counsel, the state's residential utility advocate, on Thursday filed paperwork with the PUCO saying its analysis shows the utility should decrease distribution rates for Ohio Edison and CEI and only slightly increase rates for Toledo Edison.
For Ohio Edison customers, FirstEnergy is requesting a $161 million increase in annual revenues to be paid by customers. The PUCO recommended that FirstEnergy only get a $57 million to $66 million increase. An Ohio consumers' counsel analysis recommends a $2 million reduction for Ohio Edison customers.
In its testimony, the Ohio consumers' counsel cited various costs it believes customers should not have to pay and what it called FirstEnergy's declining service reliability.
''Customers in northern Ohio should only pay electric rates that are just and reasonable. Based on the work of accountants, economists and other experts working for the OCC, the rate increases proposed by FirstEnergy should be reduced considerably,'' Ohio Consumers' Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander said in a news release. ''The utility needs to be held accountable for service quality problems over the last several years, and should charge fair and reasonable rates to its customers.''
The OCC is ''absolutely wrong,'' said FirstEnergy spokeswoman Ellen Raines.
''Our customer service reliability has improved 50 percent in the last three years alone, putting our Ohio companies' performance at the top quartile for utility companies in the country,'' said Raines, citing comparisons done by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. ''At the same time, Ohio Edison customers are paying about the same rates as they were paying in 1990.
''We've had a period of long-term price stability while improving service and making significant investments in our system,'' said Raines. The company has invested $1 billion a year in Ohio for operations, maintenance and capital, she said.
Distribution rates help a utility recover costs for local facilities and equipment such as poles and wires and account for about one-third of a customer's bill. The proposed increase would add $6.04 to the bill of Ohio Edison residential customers who use 750 kilowatt hours a month. The average total bill is $89.62.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at
330-996-3724 or blinfisher@
thebeaconjournal.com.
Ohio Edison customers should be getting a decrease in distribution rates instead of a proposed increase, a consumer watchdog agency said in testimony filed Thursday.
Get the full article here.
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