Ohio voters are not happy with FirstEnergy and American Electric Power proposals to have consumers pay more every month to make sure their old power plants can keep operating.
The W.H. Sammis power plant on the Ohio River is FirstEnergy's last coal-fired power plant in Ohio. The company wants state regulators to approve its proposal to have its Ohio utilities -- the Illuminating Co., Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison -- buy all of the Sammis power output, even though it is more expensive currently than power from competitors. Customers would have to pay extra -- for up to eight years, say opponents. COLUMBUS, Ohio - Huge majorities of Ohio voters are adamantly opposed to paying higher monthly electric bills bankrolling FirstEnergy and American Electric Power power plants, newly released polling shows.
FirstEnergy and AEP say their old coal-fired power plants and FirstEnergy's 40-year-old Davis-Bessie nuclear plant are unable to compete in wholesale power markets dominated by new, natural gas power plants and wind turbines.
Both power companies have requests pending before the Pubic Utilities Commission of Ohio seeking to have customers pay extra for up to eight years, buying all of the more expensive power from the old plants in order to keep them operating. The companies believe market prices will eventually increase when, or if, regional natural gas prices increase.
The Ohio Consumers' Counsel has estimated the total extra charges paid by FirstEnergy and AEP customers could reach $6 billion over the next eight years.
Although the PUCO is not working on a specific timetable, it is expected to rule on the requests this spring.
Ohio AARP and the newly formed Alliance for Energy Choice jointly issued findings from separate polls Friday revealing the depth of consumer concerns about utility bills and about these specific proposals.
The Alliance survey, part of the broader statewide Ohio Omnibus Survey, conducted earlier this month by Columbus-based Fallon Research, found
- 75 percent oppose the PUCO approving the special "power purchase agreements."
- 63 percent think the power company requests are just "an unneeded government handout that come at the expense of higher costs for families and businesses."
- 55 percent, including voters who now support the proposals, said provisions included in the purchase agreements guaranteeing a profit for the companies would make them less likely to support the deals.
- Another 38 percent said they were concerned the deals would "unfairly" raise their electric bills, while 25 percent said they worried that approval of the plans "would unfairly reward" companies that had not invested in new efficient power plants.
The AARP findings, included in a wide-ranging poll of voters 50 and older last summer, found that:
- Affordable utility bills were crucial "top-of-mind" issues for 82 percent of those polled.
- Nearly two-thirds, 64 percent, said their income was falling behind the cost of living and cited rising utility bills as a major reason for that.
- More than two-thirds, 69 percent, said a candidate's position or actions affecting their utility bills would be very important in determining their support.
"Consumers lose big time with these proposed settlements," said Trey Addison, of AARP Ohio, in a prepared statement. "They are especially onerous for those who can least afford another hit: Ohioans who live on fixed incomes and whose Social Security checks will not see a cost of living adjustment this year."
Alliance spokesperson Todd A. Snitchler, a former PUCO chairman, said, "AEP reported a $2 billion profit last year, even as the company claims that their plants are not making enough money. Why should Ohioans be forced to pay the company more?"
Ohio AARP has 1.5 million Ohio members. Alliance for Energy Choice members are independent power companies that fear they will not be able to compete with the FirstEnergy and AEP plants once they are subsidized.