News Isn't Good for Electric Customers

Owners of all-electric homes --  and those who heat with gas, too -- were dealt some bad news Wednesday about their future bills.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio of Ohio ruled Wednesday that First Energy can gradually eliminate the deep discounts owners of all-electric homes receive over the next six years.

Until then, other customers will subsidize the discounts by paying a few dollars more a month.

But State Sen. Tom Patton, R-Strongsville, said in a joint statement with State Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland, that the battle is not over.

"We will continue to fight for full protection of the all-electric homeowners. These homeowners are entitled to justice and they certainly did not receive justice today,” said the statement, issued Wednesday.

Hundreds of Strongsville homeowners saw their electric bills double two years ago when First Energy abruptly discontinued the discounts, which were originally given as incentive to buy all-electric homes.

After a public outcry, then-Gov. Ted Strickland halted the company's plans until the PUCO could discuss the matter.

Mayor Tom Perciak could not be reached for comment Thursday morning.

Patton said Thursday that a bill has already been drafted that would force First Energy to restore the discounts.

And he said Grendell, who is an attorney, maintains the PUCO has no authority to rule on something that was a contract between the utility and homebuyer. 

"The fight goes on," Patton said.

In January, nearly 300 people attended a meeting in Strongsville on converting their electric homes to natural gas and learned that Columbia Gas would offer each homeowner 100 feet of gas line in front of their house free of charge.

Columbia would also pick up the cost of extending the line to each participating home and installing a meter.

Residents would pay to bring the service into their homes and to convert their appliances to gas.

Dozens of residents submitted letters of interest, which Columbia is analyzing to determine which streets to convert first.

Patton said the issue is more far-reaching that just the cost of heating all-electric homes.

"It's a community issue," he said. "It's going to cause hardships for homeowners and it's going to cause loss of property values, which translates into loss of property taxes for the local governments and schools."