(The Center Square) – Ohio utility customers could have an itemized, detailed list of their bills and receive refunds if charges are determined to be unlawful, according to two pieces of legislation before the Senate.
What Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, wants with Senate Bills 227 and 228 is transparency and protection for Ohio ratepayers.
“These bills are about giving Ohioans the transparency and protections they deserve from the companies providing their essential services,” Smith said. “By requiring greater clarity in billing and ensuring unlawful charges are refunded, we’re putting Ohio consumers first.”
SB227 would require utility companies to give residential customers itemized lists of their bill costs. Companies would also be required to separate the costs of distribution, generation, transmission and supply from riders or additional charges.
“An itemized bill will allow customers to check for billing errors, monitor their usage, and perhaps adjust their consumption patterns,” Smith said. “This ‘truth in utility pricing’ legislation is important because it can help consumers make more informed decisions, which could lead to them saving money.”
SB228 would require refunds to customers if charges paid were ruled unlawful. Smith said it would correct a 1957 decision that prohibited refunds.
Smith also said that since 2009, $1.5 billion has been paid by Ohioans through illegal utility billing, but none of that has been returned to customers.
He pointed to a time period between Oct. 1, 2017, and Aug. 31, 2019, when FirstEnergy collected $456 million through a Distribution Modernization Rider that was found illegal but cannot be refunded.
The bills would apply to gas, water and electric companies operating in the state.
Both bills await more hearings in the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee as the two-year General Session nears a close at the end of this year.