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FirstEnergy proposal would raise base rates for Toledo Edison customers


On Wednesday, Toledo City Council heard from the Ohio Consumers Council regarding FirstEnergy’s proposed increase to its base rates.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo Edison customers could be seeing a base rate increase for the first time in almost two decades if the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approves a request from FirstEnergy.

Toledo City Council leaders heard from the Ohio Consumers Council regarding the proposal on Wednesday morning.

RELATED: FirstEnergy plans to increase average price

The typical monthly bill for Toledo Edison customers is just under $172, and under this proposed rate increase, a typical customer would have to pay just over $173 per month.

The potential rate increase has some in Toledo feeling a little shaken and asking themselves the question: why now?

Toledo City Council member Nick Komives said the proposed base rate increases will greatly impact customers. 

“Our residents are already burdened by significantly higher rates than most other parts of the state and the country,” Komives said. “And asking for a rate increase right now at a time when we’re seeing rising costs all over is difficult for us to swallow.”

Komives said it’s imperative that customers use their voice to share their concerns about these potential changes. 

“I really hope that people participate in this process, they explain that they’ve experienced rising costs in their lives already, that they’re already burdened by a number of things, and a rate increase through FirstEnergy is just not acceptable right now,” Komives said.

Through this base rate increase proposal, FirstEnergy is asking for $190 million.

“We are just very concerned about that because we have some of the highest electric rates in Ohio, as well as in the nation,” Toledo City Council member George Sarantou said. “And we just don’t want to pay any more.”

According to a FirstEnergy spokesperson, if the PUCO approves the change, a typical Toledo Edison customer using 750 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month on average could expect to see an increase of $1.09, or 0.8%, on their monthly bill.

In May 2024, for the first time in 17 years, FirstEnergy filed a request with the PUCO to review its base electric rates. The utility said the current base rates took effect in 2009.

This proposed increase differs from the June 2023 raise that Toledo Edison and FirstEnergy customers saw on their bills due to an increase in supplier rate.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “a ‘utility base rate’ refers to the fixed cost charged by a local utility company for delivering electricity or gas to your home, including infrastructure maintenance and distribution, while a ‘supplier rate’ is the price per unit of energy charged by a separate energy supplier.”

So while changing a supplier was possible to ease the burden of an increase in June 2023, it isn’t the same in this case.

“We all pay for this, and it’s very unfortunate when they’re making over $1 billion net profit to be raising our electric rates,” Sarantou said.

Komives says there will be an open public meeting in Toledo where people can come and voice their concerns about these rate increase, however, that meeting has not yet been scheduled.



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