Electric rate increases worry residents

By ELISE FRANCO

Area residents want to know how they’re expected to afford increased electric rates for 2009.

AUSTINTOWN — Representatives of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio know that residents all over the state, especially those in the Mahoning Valley, are feeling the pinch of the economy, which is why they chose Austintown for a public hearing to discuss the possibility of raising electric rates.

If approved, the rate change will take place between 2009 and 2011.

The first increase for Ohio Edison customers with an average monthly bill of $85.43 would be $2.04 per month. In 2010, it would rise by $3.06, then an additional $5.22 in 2011 — $10.32 over the three years.

Residents from Canfield, Austintown, Youngstown, Liberty and Hubbard gathered at Austintown Middle School on Tuesday night to explain to the PUCO why the proposed 12 percent increase over three years will hurt everyone.

Rodney Johnson, of Canfield, said he and many others attended the hearing in hopes of getting some answers.

“I’m trying to live on a fixed income, so how do we afford the increases in electric?” he asked.

Linda Hott, of Austintown, said she is a widow on a fixed income and is worried she won’t be able to afford to pay her utilities.

“We aren’t seeing any relief, so how are we supposed to survive?” she asked. “We understand [First Energy’s] costs have gone up and you have expenses, but we have expenses too.

“Do we sit in the dark because we can’t pay our lighting bill? We have to cut back, so why don’t they cut back?”

Hott said she lives in a neighborhood with many older residents, many of whom agree with her.

“My neighbors all feel the same way, but they won’t talk,” she said. “To just keep giving [First Energy] increases blindly is not helping us.”

Liberty Township Trustee Jodi Stoyak said she thinks the PUCO needs to apply pressure to First Energy to work with community members to make street lights more energy-efficient by changing them to LEDs.

“This reduces costs significantly,” she said. “It helps townships and schools, but it helps homeowners as well.”

Shana Eiselstein, PUCO representative, said the next step in deciding whether to grant First Energy’s request begins on Thursday.

“The completed case record will be reviewed in Columbus by Gregory Price [attorney examiner], who will make a recommendation to the PUCO commissioners,” she said.

Eiselstein said the commissioners will then look over the recommendation, the case and testimony from residents in Austintown, as well as testimony from nine other public hearings, before they accept or deny Price’s recommendation.

Eiselstein said the testimony given by residents at the hearing is an integral part of the approval process.

“Your testimony will provide PUCO with insight into your experiences as First Energy customers,” she said. “The commissioners will balance all testimonies ... by consumers and other parties in weighing their decision.”

Homeowners weren’t the only attendees concerned for what lies ahead if the PUCO accepts the proposal.

Officials from two local school districts expressed their need for electric rates to stay low.

John Fromel, president of the South Range Board of Education, said Dec. 31 marks the end of Energy For Education, a program that has helped keep energy rates down for 249 Ohio school districts over the past 10 years.

“This program has been helpful in keeping electric rates down for schools,” he said. “The savings have been used for increasing learning opportunities.”

Fromel said if the program isn’t renewed by First Energy, the 249 districts will lose more than $11.5 million collectively.

Dante Zambrini, superintendent of Canfield School District, said he appreciates First Energy’s cooperation with the program in past years but agrees that its renewal is necessary.

“Our rates will increase 13.4 percent on top of any other increases on electric that we may see,” he said.

Zambrini said at this point Canfield, like many other schools in Ohio, can’t afford any level of increase in energy costs.

efranco@vindy.com