The company will file those final rates with state regulators in a week or two.
However, with electric costs, nothing is simple. Some facts to keep in mind:
AES Ohio passes its market prices from the auction to residential customers who have AES Ohio as their supplier for what is known as the “standard service offer,” sometimes called the “SSO.”
If another company is your supplier, this new number does not apply to you.
What AES Ohio customers pay to cover distribution of electricity is expected to go up. In December, a spokeswoman for the PUCO could not say how much that increase will be or when it will go into effect. State regulators should know more once AES Ohio’s “electric security” or operating plan is finalized, perhaps this spring.
All Ohio utilities participate in a competitive market-based auction for generation of electricity.
In these auctions, wholesale suppliers bid to serve AES Ohio customers their generation supply of electricity, and pricing is based on market conditions that day.
The auctions are conducted by an independent third party with oversight by the PUCO.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average U.S. residential customer uses about 909 kWh per month. In Ohio, the average is closer to 892 kWh a month.
AES Ohio provides electric transmission and distribution service to more than 527,000 customers across its 6,000-square-mile service territory in west central Ohio.
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