Council Calls on Mayor Bibb to Inform FirstEnergy Customers How They Can Protect Themselves from Skyrocketing Electricity Rates During the Summer

May 19, 2023

Recently, Clevelanders with FirstEnergy service have learned they will pay substantially more on the energy supply portions of their bills in June and July due to an unnecessary delay on the part of the mayor’s administration on selecting an electric aggregator. 

Cleveland Public Power and FirstEnergy customers enrolled in PIPP will not be impacted by the unnecessary delay in selecting a new energy aggregator.

Cleveland City Council knows that many residents will be unprepared and will experience financial distress due to these rate increases and calls upon the mayor’s administration to issue a statement immediately explaining the delay and communicating if and what FirstEnergy customers can do to prevent their utility bills from sharp increases in June and July. The June billing cycle will begin as early as May 27th for many customers. 

Utilities Committee Chair Brian Kazy stated, “At the request of the mayor’s administration in July 2022, Cleveland City Council granted authorization for the City to withdraw from our past energy aggregator, NOPEC. To have a seamless transition in selecting a new energy aggregator for Clevelanders, the mayor’s administration should have started searching for a new one before January 2023.

"The Office of Sustainability did not issue the request for proposal until April 2023, and that lapse will create higher energy bills for thousands of Cleveland’s FirstEnergy customers. Cleveland City Council will update residents as the mayor’s Office of Sustainability informs us about electrical aggregation and electricity rates. We look forward to hearing from the administration on how they will help protect the finances of Clevelanders.”

As it currently stands, the Mayor’s Administration is directing residents to its community choice aggregation FAQ page at www.sustainablecleveland.org/CommunityChoiceAggregation. Residents can also call 3-1-1 or (216) 664-2455 for more information.