That deadline, Keiper told commissioners, assures participants of the 6.45 cents/kWh rate NOPEC will guarantee for six months starting in June. That’s one of several options available through NOPEC that can potentially save Ohio Edison customers money as the local electric supplier has announced rates will more than double to 12.39 cents/kWh beginning June 1.
City residents received letters in April advising them that NOPEC operations would resume after an unprecedented move last October to suspend NOPEC services temporarily.
Keiper explained that NOPEC returned 550,000 Ohio customers back to standard service offerings in October when they could not match the competitive price available through electric utility companies.
“One of our promises to you was to always be competitive. When we couldn’t be competitive, even though it was a challenging walk, we meant to honor our sense of public service that we share with you and the promise we made to you to do no harm,” Keiper said.
“Now, as promised, we have begun returning customers to NOPEC service.”
He could not offer updated figures on the number of NOPEC participants as it resumes services.
Concern about confusion
City Commissioner Kevin O’Neill expressed concern with the confusion caused to consumers when the aggregator suspended services, saying there were a lot of people in Springfield hurt by high utility costs.
“I personally recommended we aggregate with you. The average person doesn’t take the time to look at this,” O’Neill said. “I heard about it from people. I’m talking hundreds of dollars in utility bills for some people on fixed incomes. I don’t have a real comfort level here — or with Ohio Edison right now either.”
“I apologize for the confusion this has caused a lot of people,” Keiper said. “The people who typically received the higher bills were on a budget billing plans. So they came through a hot summer where they were using energy but paying at a certain level and then they had to reconcile.”
Keiper indicated the energy market is expected to flatten over the year, so NOPEC may be able to offer even further reduced pricing after the six-month introductory rate.
He noted customers can opt in and out of the program without fees whenever price changes go into effect that impact their utility bill. There are also multiple options available, depending on customer preference.
“Our customers tell us one shoe does not fit all. Some people want and are comfortable with our normal program price…Some people want a one-year fixed rate, and we offer those. Some people want a two-year fixed rate. We have those. Some want a 100% renewable energy content, or green program. We have several of those.”
Customers opting for those longer term and renewable energy programs remained under NOPEC service during the temporary suspension because they continued to be competitively priced.
O’Neill was also critical of NOPEC’s communications effort in resuming services, saying the window for people to decide whether to opt in or out was not optimal.
“Your letter was dated April 3. I received it April 19. You had quoted the 6.45 cent rate for NOPEC,” O’Neill said. “At that time, Ohio Edison’s rate was at 5.83… The next Sunday the Springfield News-Sun ran an article saying NOPEC was going to be low, but Ohio Edison was going to be at 12.39 cents. Two days later is when people had to opt out.”
Keiper said the next step is those who did not opt out of the NOPEC mailing will be contacted by Ohio Edison with another opportunity to confirm their decision to enroll in the NOPEC program.
Green energy options
Keiper promoted the efforts NOPEC is taking to expand green energy in Ohio, which prompted Commissioner David Estrop to ask where Ohio stands in comparison to other midwestern states in expanding solar and wind energy.
“We are finding a larger appetite for renewable energy and sustainability in Ohio urban areas where they have adopted sustainability plans. Many of them have contracted to have solar farms built on their behalf,” Keiper said. “Leading industries who are intending to demonstrate their social. environmental, and governmental responsibility, like the Walmarts, Amazons and Googles of the world, are operating in this state and have commissioned or bought up all the renewable energy credits that they can.”
He said the state of Ohio has not made finding locations for solar or wind farms for energy easy.
Estop said in his travels to other midwestern states he’s noted Ohio is behind the curve on renewable efforts.
“That is the result of political decisions being made in Columbus, and it’s important for the people in this state to know,” Estrop said. “We are trailing other midwestern states. I’m not comparing to the east or west coast. We are trailing behind.”