To the editor:

Much has been said in recent days about the default, or Standard Service Offer (SSO) electric generation rate charged by our local utility, and FirstEnergy (FE) has taken shot after shot.

FE’s rate change from 5.9 cents to 12.4 cents is in line with the other three electric utilities in Ohio: In June 2022 AES went from 5 cents to 11 cents, where it remains today; AEP was 7 cents in January, and is 12 cents now; Duke was 6.5 cents in January and is 10 cents now.

It is unfortunate that some of our state representatives correlate the FE electricity supplier rates to the FE corporate events of the past few years. My state senator’s knee-jerk reaction was “Ohioans’ utility bills are being decimated by a crooked company. I’m 1 million percent against this. I’ll do what I can to reverse this . . .”

Thankfully, State Rep. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield brought some clarity and sanity to the discussion with “It’s the law of supply and demand . . . It’s not a FirstEnergy issue, it’s an energy issue in general . . . The best way to handle this situation is to be energy independent and to diversify the energy portfolio utilizing coal, nuclear and oil and gas.”

Our national energy policy is being driven by those who believe windmills and solar panels can meet all of our needs all the time. FE once operated many regional generating facilities–most of them reliable, resilient, low-cost coal plants. Ashtabula, Eastlake, Toledo, Niles, Stratton, Toronto, Shadyside (all in OH), and New Castle and Shippingport (in PA) are all home to rusting “skeletons” of FE’s once-viable plants.

FE, by law, must be able to provide electricity to its customers who do not otherwise choose a supplier. FE no longer operates power plants so it purchases wholesale electricity on the open market from companies that do have generation facilities. FE passes that electricity through “at cost.”

It procures generated electricity through a bidding auction that takes place months, even years before the electricity is needed. This is the prudent thing to do for its customers!

Attention has been brought to www.energychoice.ohio.gov. I have used it for my electricity and natural gas. For people who care about and pay attention to their utility bills, this is a great tool. After I read the June 5 Salem News headline article, I spent less than five minutes and was able to identify eight fixed-rate options for electricity below 7 cents.

You don’t have to sacrifice–there are other options! Two years ago I locked in a three-year, fixed-rate, no fee offer for 5.3 cents for my electricity. I’ll feel pretty good over the next twelve months, while some are paying the FE 12.4 cent SSO.

Paul Kish ,

Salem