Ohio Electric Rates – How To Lower Your Electric Rates

Ohio Electric Rates – How To Lower Your Electric Rates

Ohio homeowners have access to more than 80 energy suppliers that purchase electricity from local power generation companies and sell it to customers. These providers also offer many energy plan options with different contract terms.

The PUCO marketplace allows you to compare prices in your area using the “Price to Compare” tool. Just have your utility bill on hand and you can find the best energy rates to save money on power.

Energy Choice

The Public Utilities Commission of apples to apples ohio allows consumers to choose their own energy supplier for the generation side of their electric bills. On the delivery side of the bill, you will still pay the local utility company to deliver electricity to your home or business.

The cost to deliver electricity is called a distribution charge and does not change month to month. You can find your distributor by looking at the name of the company on your electric bill under the “consumption” or usage section. Some communities participate in a government aggregation program and can save even more on their electricity by buying together through an approved supplier.

If you haven’t already, now is a great time to check rates on the market and compare your options with the free Arbor TrueRate Protection service. This automatically finds the best electricity rate available in your area and switches you to it before your current contract term expires.

PUCO Rates

You may have heard that your local utility company’s rates are going up. This is largely due to the results of auctions for the generation supply portion of your bill. During this process energy supply companies bid to provide you with power and your local utility continues to handle the transmission and distribution of that electricity to your home.

These prices update each year on June 1. Combined with other charges and riders, this SSO price makes up about 40% of your total electric bill. For non-shopping customers this means that a FirstEnergy Ohio residential customer using 750 kilowatt hours can expect to see an increase of about 47% on their June electric bill.

This rate increase is expected to continue through 2024. Its impact may be mitigated by the fact that FirstEnergy has a stipulation agreement with the PUCO that will allow it to only seek a limited base distribution rate increase to cover things like its investments.

Deregulated Areas

Due to deregulation, Ohio residents have the ability to choose their energy supplier. They can do this either by switching providers or by participating in a local government aggregation program such as the one Columbus voters approved in 2022. In both instances, your utility company will continue to deliver the electricity and maintain power lines, meters, poles and energy infrastructure.

Before deregulation, investor-owned utilities controlled the generation, transmission and distribution of energy for their service area. Those utilities would charge enough to cover their costs and a reasonable profit. With energy deregulation, you can choose from independent energy suppliers such as Shipley Energy that offer competitive rates without changing your utility service. These independent companies monitor the market and buy at times when prices are low, ensuring you receive affordable energy. They then pass the savings on to you. The price for the supply portion of your bill will increase on June 1 if you are a AEP Ohio customer and not enrolled in an electric aggregation program.

Switching

Ohioans have Energy Choice, giving them the opportunity to compare energy rates and choose a plan that meets their needs. Simply enter your zip code and you’ll be able to see great rates from leading energy providers and save on your electric bill.

With power prices on the rise, shopping for a new Ohio electricity provider has never been easier. Using a site like Arbor, you can compare suppliers, plans, and rates in less than five minutes. It’s quick, easy, and completely free.

In June, AEP Ohio customers who don’t participate in an aggregation program or choose their own supplier will find their default price per kwh on their local utility bill — also known as the Price to Compare rate — is set to double. The increased cost will be based on the high auction clearing prices AEP Ohio has had in recent procurements. This is an opportunity to shop for a competitive rate with an alternative energy supplier or work with a company that offers time of day pricing, which can help you reduce your overall electricity usage and save money.