City Urges State to Keep Consumers' Counsel Intact

When First Energy abruptly discontinued a discount for owners of all-electric homes, sending their bills skyrocketing, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel stepped in, fighting with the utility to restore the discount.

Now, state legislators are planning to cut the OCC's budget in half, and Strongville officials aren't taking it lying down.

"There are a lot of very good things that organization does," Ward 4 Councilman Scott Maloney said.

City Council passed a resolution Monday urging state legislators to restore full funding to the agency, which was established in 1976 to advocate for consumers on utility issues.

The measure says the OCC has a current operating budget of $8.5 million a year, allowing its staff of attorneys, accountants, engineers, economists and other professionals to analyze utility issues, educate customers and advocate on behalf of residents, but Ohio's proposed biennial budget cuts its budget to about $4.1 million.

The OCC has saved customers $54.8 million directly through its advocacy and about $10 billion in avoided utility costs.

"They're a independent voice and an independent body," Council President Mike Daymut said. "They've been an advocate for us since the beginning."

Maloney said residents with questions or issues about utilities can call the OCC's consumer hotline at 877-742-5622 (PICKOCC).