AARP Eye Center
With hearings resuming this week in Columbus, AARP is urging the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to reject a proposed settlement with FirstEnergy that would grant the electric company an unprecedented $3.1 billion bailout.
“The proposed settlement is a bad deal for consumers,” says Trey Addison of AARP Ohio. “It would add $10.50 per month to residential electric bills, every month, for the next eight years.”
AARP points out the proposed rate hike would subsidize FirstEnergy’s deregulated merchant power plants that apparently are no longer competitive in today’s wholesale marketplace.
“Ohio has a surplus of power being in a regional market,” Addison points out. “Ohioans should not be forced to subsidize uncompetitive power plants.”
Further, the proposed FirstEnergy settlement contains harmful provisions unrelated to the power plant issue.
Earlier AARP members testified at hearings in Toledo, Akron and Cleveland. Now they are making calls and filing complaints online with the PUCO in opposition to the proposed settlement with FirstEnergy.
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