CLEVELAND — This week, Akron City Council passed a resolution asking the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to stop Dominion Energy Ohio from raising its rates for customers.
THE CLAIM
So today, we’re VERIFYING: Does Akron City Council’s resolution mean PUCO will automatically veto Dominion Energy Ohio's rate hike?
SOURCES
To look into this, we checked with the following sources:
- Akron City Council Ward 7 representative Donnie Kammer
- Dominion Energy Ohio's website
- Dominion Energy Ohio's PUCO filing
- PUCO Director of Public Affairs Matt Schilling
EXPLANATION
Ward 7 Councilman Donnie Kammer told us:
"[Dominion Energy Ohio's request] would increase consumers monthly fixed Basic Service Charge for natural gas distribution service from $43.27 to $56.31, and Dominion Energy Ohio has proposed to increase other fixed monthly distribution charges to consumers by more than $8.78 per month starting in 2025, increasing by as much as $29.69 per month by 2032.
"This is unacceptable and is an outrageous proposal to increase rates this much. Residents are paying too much now. My hope for this resolution is to educate citizens and ask them to voice their concerns to PUCO."
We looked at the initial rate hike request from Dominion Energy Ohio, filed in September of 2023, and it shows similar basic service charge numbers to what Kammer noted (see page 165 here).
On Dominion Ohio Energy's website, the company lists the cost of infrastructure improvements, operating, labor, and materials as the reason it needs to raise rates. We talked to PUCO Director of Public Affairs Matt Schilling on the phone about the situation.
"Any time a rate case is filed for any utility, PUCO's role is to examine that organization's expenses, incomes, and revenues to ensure rates are sufficient to cover their costs and are also in line with the mission of PUCO, which is to ensure affordable rates for customers while allowing the organization to provide adequate and reliable service to those customers," he said.
Schilling told us that right now, PUCO is on steps 1 and 2 of the review process for the Dominion Energy Ohio request, where PUCO reviews the request and releases its own report. When that report is released, "PUCO will schedule public hearings throughout Dominion's service territory to take sworn testimony from the public on the utility's application."
"Customers can also write to the PUCO at any time and their comments will be added to the case under the 'public comments' tab in the docket linked above," he added.
ANSWER
So we can VERIFY that no, Akron City Council's resolution does not mean PUCO will automatically veto Dominion Energy Ohio's rate hike. It's much more complex than that, and the process is still in its early stages.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We can tell you that PUCO often receives resolutions or other feedback from local governments, and all documents submitted are available for review by the Commission prior to their issuing a ruling in the case. When we asked Schilling whether PUCO is limited to strictly approving or denying rate increase requests, he told us, "It is not a simple yes or no. The PUCO staff report of investigation may offer recommendations to the Commission to modify request, and intervening parties may also submit evidence at the evidentiary hearing. The Commission is bound to issue a ruling based on the evidence in the case record."
Remember, if you're not sure whether a claim you come across is true or false, you can send it to us to VERIFY. Email us at VERIFY@wkyc.com, or text us at (216) 344-3300.