Matt Brakey News Today

About $49 million is being distributed to those who were FirstEnergy customers when what's been called the largest bribery scheme in Ohio was increasing rates via the now-infamous House Bill 6.

Q&A: Everything you need to know to shop for the best electric deal in Ohio

Rates for many Northeast Ohioans will double if they don't take action.

Ohio's largest energy aggregator has emerged from an existential threat caused by market conditions and regulator concerns. It now has a tailwind as it hopes to get back more than half a million former customers.

Starting in June, the price of electric service for many FirstEnergy customers is set to increase dramatically.

Recent energy auctions show that the default rate will double next June, thanks to a system that makes Ohio fraught with risk for energy providers, while rates for everyone are expected to go up as well. Experts say to prepare now to avoid the worst of it.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio asked the nonprofit aggregator to show cause for its existence after dumping nearly all of its customers in an upside-down energy market. NOPEC says it has acted in the best interest of its customers and isn't to blame for high energy prices that are expected to spike in Ohio next year.

Dynegy, a major bidder in Ohio's power auctions, wants the PUCO to deny NOPEC's request to migrate customers back to their utility's default rate — power that Dynegy would have to provide at a loss due to the nature of Ohio's electricity markets. Energy experts say the situation could further drive up rates in Ohio in an environment in which they are already on the rise.

With the current rates for power substantially higher than the standard rates charged by utilities, NOPEC's customers have been paying a lot more for their electricity than they otherwise would, so it's cutting them loose amid rising consumer alarm.

From Crain's Akron Business: The ebb and flow of COVID, combined with the crisis in Ukraine, has created a strange set of circumstances in which the Standard Service Offering is artificially low and multiyear contracts are priced below one-year terms, a local analyst finds.