COLUMBUS, Ohio — AEP Ohio residential customers will pay more for electricity beginning April 1 after the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio unanimously approved a rate adjustment Wednesday.
The average residential bill will increase about $7.90 per month, with the exact amount varying by usage. Commercial and industrial customers will also see higher rates.
The increase is tied to a PUCO-approved rider that allows utilities to recover transmission-related costs. One component of the rate will rise by approximately 0.79 cents per kilowatt-hour, from about 3.6 cents to 4.3 cents.
The approval comes amid an ongoing dispute between AEP Ohio and the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, which contends the utility has inflated electricity demand forecasts, in part by counting data center projects multiple times. AEP Ohio disputes those claims, saying its forecasting methods are consistent with past practice and have not been challenged by PUCO staff.
The manufacturers’ group has separately appealed PUCO’s approval of AEP Ohio’s data center tariff to the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing it results in unfair pricing for manufacturers. AEP Ohio defends the tariff, saying it prevents other customers from bearing the infrastructure costs of serving large-scale energy users.
