OMA Appeals New FirstEnergy Rider to Supreme Court

Just over one year ago, the PUCO approved a new credit support rider called the “distribution modernization rider” that will cost manufacturers in the FirstEnergy service territory an additional annual charge ranging between $3,700 to $3.7 million based on a company’s electricity usage.

The new above-market charge is unrelated to distribution service and offers no offsetting customer benefit. The OMA Energy Group opposed the rider throughout the PUCO process. The charge hit customer bills in January.

“This week, we appealed the PUCO decision to the Ohio Supreme Court,” reported OMA’s Ryan Augsburger. “The credit support rider approved by the PUCO one year ago is unlawful and is merely an instrument to prop up the affiliate company, FirstEnergy Solutions. It is apparent to our members that this rider is just another above-market charge that customers are forced to pay to subsidize an unprofitable and unregulated power generation company. The rider will increase customer’s power costs, jeopardizing Ohio’s manufacturing competitiveness.” 10/19/2017