Those sales reps have reportedly tried to persuade customers to end their relationship with NOPEC and more recently are claiming affiliation with the city. Officials are advising residents that these individuals are not being dispatched by the city of Springfield.
NOPEC (Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council) is a non-profit that buys utilities in bulk to help lower customers’ utility bills. NOPEC is the city of Springfield’s energy aggregator.
“The city has not, and will not, send sales representatives to speak with residents,” the release from the city stated.
Springfield residents are also being urged by city officials to treat with caution any sales offers, door-to-door or otherwise, and to avoid sharing billing or any other confidential information with someone they don’t know.
Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said that they do not encounter these type of incidents often in which solicitors claim to be with the City of Springfield. But said that similar incidents have involved solicitors claiming affiliation with known utility companies.
“I do believe that you have these solicitors that do tend to try to legitimize themselves and latch on to some company, whether it is a public utility like Ohio Edison or Columbia Gas or the City of Springfield,” Heck said.
“I think they try to legitimize themselves by saying they are part of an organization that is known and respected. I think that is a common trend of these. Fortunately we have not had too many of those.”
The latest incident was brought to the city’s attention after several residents reached out by questioning the legitimacy of the solicitors.
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