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Receiver for Youngstown Thermal to be appointed
VINDICATOR EXCLUSIVE
By KALEA hall
YOUNGSTOWN
The last time the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio was forced to go through the courts to prevent an energy loss, iPhones didn’t exist and Ronald Reagan was president.
Youngstown Thermal’s inability to pay utility bills and make payroll in a timely manner caused PUCO to step in for the first such case since 1987.
On Friday, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint on the commission’s behalf requesting the court to have Youngstown Thermal comply with its duty as a utility and to seek a receiver for the company.
In the complaint, the attorney general’s office cited the Ohio Revised Code that states every utility will “comply with every order, direction and requirement of the public utilities commission” and “no valid excuse for a public utility not following a PUCO order can exist under law.”
Youngstown Thermal provides steam heat and chilling services for about 40 customers in downtown Youngstown.
The commission and Youngstown Thermal have 14 days to recommend receivers to the court for their appointment.
The case has been assigned to Judge Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
A status hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 11.
The commission met in a rare Friday meeting last week to quickly get a receiver in place to get Youngstown Thermal’s finances in order. The PUCO board voted unanimously to accept its staff’s recommendation to ask the attorney general to seek a receiver of the company.
The commission is a regulator and does not run utility companies.
“The PUCO pursued receivership for Youngstown Thermal in order that the utility can continue to meet its duty to provide essential utility service to its customers,” Matthew Schilling, spokesman for PUCO, said in an emailed statement. “Receivership is a special remedy available to the PUCO in an effort to protect the utility’s customers access to safe and reliable service.”
A receiver must be appointed by the court or the judge of the court.
The last time a court had to appoint a receiver was in April 1987 for the Rutland Fuel Co. In that case, Rutland owed a balance of about $300,000 to its natural-gas provider, which planned to cancel service.
Similarly, Youngstown Thermal owes more than $200,000 to its natural-gas, electric and water utility providers. The company received shut-off or disconnection notices from all three providers, according to the PUCO’s Finding and Order issued last week. PUCO also noted the company’s inability to meet its payroll.
Youngstown Thermal contends that the loss of Youngstown State University, its largest customer, and four large customers failing to pay their bills led to its financial struggle. One of the customers, The Vindicator found, is the city of Youngstown. A broken meter led to four-plus years of underbilling. Youngstown Thermal told the city it owes $141,570, but the city disagrees with that figure. Youngstown Thermal owes the city more than $50,000 for its water bill.
Company CEO Carl Avers contacted the commission to make them aware of a potential “energy crisis” in downtown if it did not act.
On Friday, attorneys for Youngstown Thermal, Avers and the attorney general’s office met after the complaint was filed.
Avers and his company’s attorneys declined to comment for this story.
Avers announced June 26 that the company’s assets were up for sale and there were two “major suitors” for the assets.
The suitors are French companies Engie and Veolia. Both companies are involved in district heating and cooling energy systems such as Youngstown Thermal.