If regulators approve the new rates as proposed, annual increases for the “typical customer” would be less than 3% annually each year for three years, said Mary Ann Kabel, a spokeswoman for the AES Ohio.
“It was really important to us, looking at these cases, to make sure these increases were reasonable, at or below the rate of inflation,” she said.
Even if the rates are approved, AES Ohio would likely have “among the lowest” rates charged by investor-owned electric utilities in Ohio, she added.
The company is proposing new rates for 2027, 2028 and 2029. Friday’s document notified the PUCO that an application was coming.
A website is being prepared to answer questions customers may have, at aes-ohio.com/multi-year-reliability-plan-2025.
This is a completely new case for state regulators, not connected with previous cases.
Under a settlement with interested parties reached in August, AES Ohio electric bills for customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of energy would rise 9% if state regulators approve.
The settlement proposes a rate increase that, if enacted, would affect all Dayton-area customers. The AES Ohio “standard service offer” covers energy supply or generation. At issue in the August settlement are distribution rates, charges meant to cover the cost of delivering electricity from power plants to homes and offices.
Many customers are weary of increased utility costs. In recent months, both AES Ohio and natural gas provider CenterPoint Energy have simultaneously sought to hike rates.
“This proposal would place an unnecessary burden on working families and seniors who are already navigating rising costs in every other area of life; we see the real-world impact every day,” Erin Jeffries told PUCO representatives in a August public hearing on higher distribution rates.
AES Ohio has some 539,000 customers in a 24-county area of West Central Ohio.
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