The ruling stops a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) practice of (as the OCC put it) “granting itself more than 30 days to rule on a party’s application for rehearing.”
Such moves delay rehearing applications and cost Ohio consumers millions in lost potential refunds, the OCC contends.
“We appreciate the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision today, which upholds parties’ rights to appeal unfavorable PUCO decisions,” Maureen Willis, who leads the OCC, said in a statement. “We look forward to presenting our case for over $200 million in refunds for AES consumers who need a break from the many rate increases they have borne.”
One issue in the case was the question of whether customers of AES Ohio (formerly Dayton Power & Light) should get refunds for “stability” charges.
Earlier this year, Dayton electric utility AES Ohio asked the court to dismiss appeals in the case from the OCC, which seeks to represent consumers in matters involving utilities.
The court in August rejected an earlier motion to dismiss from the utility.
The case stretches back to 2021, when the Ohio utility regulator PUCO ordered AES Ohio to include language in a tariff making a rate stabilization charge “refundable ‘to the extent permitted by law.’”
AES Ohio objected that such refund language had not been a “provision, term or condition” of AES Ohio’s earlier electric security plan or operating plan.
The OCC disagreed, filing its own brief in the case, arguing that “since Dec. 19, 2019, Dayton-area consumers have been paying ... unreasonable rates to (AES Ohio) for electric service that include charges for so-called stability, which this court has consistently struck down.”
Matt Schilling, a spokesman for the PUCO, said in September only the Supreme Court can decide if the stability charges should be refundable.
The PUCO did order AES Ohio to include the refund language in its tariff, Schilling noted. And AES Ohio abided by that order, he said.
“I am pleased with the outcome today and appreciate the clarity provided by the Supreme Court of Ohio,” PUCO Chair Jenifer French said Tuesday.
“AES Ohio appreciates that today the Ohio Supreme Court clarified a procedural issue created by its decision earlier this year in a separate Moraine Wind case,” AES Ohio said in a statement to the Dayton Daily News. “However, the court decision today did not address the merits of Ohio Consumers’ Counsel appeals in our case. AES Ohio believes that the OCC appeals are without merit and will continue to oppose them.”
To set the stage for eventual refunds, three things need to happen, the OCC has said. This ruling was a first step, in the view of the consumers’ group.
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