Ohio sets electricity rates for AEP competition

Ohio’s utility regulators announced on Monday they had devised a new price scheme that includes fees competitors of the state’s utility must pay as all parties enter further into a competitive energy market, CBS News reports.

According to the news source, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio’s (PUCO’s) decision came after months of battle between Columbus-based American Electric Power (AEP) and its major competitor FirstEnergy Solutions, which argued the fees were unfair. The regulators set the fee at $188.88 per megawatt-day, however AEP is required to charge suppliers a rate that is below market price, currently at $20.01 per megawatt-day.

The fee came in lower than AEP had called for, however company president Nicholas Akins said he saw it as a part of an ongoing process.

“This path must provide both benefits for customers and a transition that maintains the financial integrity of AEP Ohio,” Akins said.

According to The Associated Press, an earlier rate proposal had already been rejected by PUCO once, after it drew the ire of schools, churches and small businesses who claimed the higher rates were too burdensome.