Increase to your Toledo Edison bill could be on the way

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – You may possibly be paying more to power your home.

A new distribution rate increase from Toledo Edison is on the table. This is for the rate that gets the electricity to your home.

Toledo Edison’s parent company, First Energy, has been in hot water lately so there’s concern if the company can be trusted.

The distribution rate increase works out to about $1.56 each month. That’s what Toledo Edison is asking for through First Energy.

You may remember First Energy, the company caught bribing officials in Ohio, which included the Speaker of the House getting a bribe of $60 million.

“The reality is I don’t think the trust level is very high at all,” said Toledo city councilman Nick Komives.

“I think very little trust,” said Toledo city councilman George Sarantou.

Those were some of the sentiments Wednesday as Toledo city councilmembers heard a presentation on the increase, given by the watchdog group Ohio Consumers’ Council. This group plans to challenge the increase.

Eventually, the public will give feedback on the rate increase that will turn into $190 million for Toledo Edison and First Energy.

“Then they see that their executives are not only profiting wildly off of the rates that they are forcing down our throats but they’re also bribing officials to get additional dollars. None of that lines up to look too good for First Energy,” said Komives.

“I think when you ask for a $190 million increase after you just got an $840 million increase within the last year it does really raise serious questions. I think consumers are very skeptical,” said Sarantou.

That larger amount is part of an electric security plan that First Energy is still working through.

Toledo Edison/First Energy gave this statement to the I-TEAM:

“We are committed to delivering safe and reliable power in a cost-conscious manner to our customers when and where they need it.

FirstEnergy Corp.’s Ohio electric distribution companies – Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, and Toledo Edison – filed a request with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) On May 31, 2024, to review their base electric rates. The Ohio companies last filed a base rate review in 2007 with rates that took effect in 2009.

Since their last rate review, FirstEnergy’s Ohio companies have collectively invested millions of dollars to modernize and strengthen the distribution system.

These investments, which help reduce the size and length of power outages, include the installation of automated devices and technology that can sense an outage and automatically transfer customers to an adjacent power line to limit the number of customers who experience a lengthy outage.

By carefully managing costs and planning ahead, we’ve been able to present proposed rates in this case that are reasonable and affordable for our customers. If approved by the PUCO, a typical non-shopping Toledo Edison residential 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.

The rate review will consider investments in the distribution system, storm restoration work and a bill assistance initiative that aims to keep customers’ needs and expectations top of mind. The rate filing includes

• Recovery of investments the companies have made to help create a more reliable and resilient distribution system, including the installation of additional animal guards and lightning protection on electrical equipment that will help prevent outages caused by factors outside of the companies’ control.
• Creation of an Energy Assistance Outreach Team to enhance the companies’ ongoing efforts to increase awareness, education and participation in energy assistance programs available to eligible customers.”

Latest Local News | First Alert Weather | Crime | National | 13abc Originals

Copyright 2024 WTVG. All rights reserved.