Profiled utilities
Ohio utilities on CallMePower
The five investor-owned EDCs that carry the load across Ohio, plus the Village of Glouster as a municipal-utility reference. FirstEnergy companies link to their walk-in offices.
Investor-owned · EDC
AEP Ohio
Ohio Power Company (merged Columbus Southern Power + Ohio Power)
Central, southern, eastern and northwestern Ohio
SSO via PUCO-approved quarterly competitive bid auctions.
Investor-owned · EDC
Duke Energy Ohio
Cincinnati-region IOU · electric + gas
Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clermont, Brown counties (SW Ohio)
Gas leak: 1-800-634-4300.
Investor-owned · EDC
The Illuminating Company
FirstEnergy subsidiary · Cleveland metro
Greater Cleveland and northeast Ohio
Same SSO auction framework as the other OH IOUs.
Investor-owned · EDC
Ohio Edison
FirstEnergy subsidiary · Akron / Youngstown
Akron, Youngstown, central and north-central Ohio
Largest FirstEnergy operating company in Ohio.
Investor-owned · EDC
Toledo Edison
FirstEnergy subsidiary · NW Ohio
Toledo and northwest Ohio
Smallest of the three OH FirstEnergy companies.
Municipal utility
Glouster Water & Electric
Village muni · Athens County
Village of Glouster (ZIP 45732)
Retail choice does not apply in muni territory.
Why your address matters
Three utility models, one deregulated state
Whether your address sits in an IOU, a co-op or a municipal territory is set by law and by historical service-area certifications. You cannot switch between them. Retail choice exists only in the 5 IOU footprints.
5 IOUs · investor-owned
Private, regulated by the PUCO, delivery-only since 2001. Retail-choice generation through 70+ competitive suppliers.
- ✓Customers can shop the generation line on Apples-to-Apples.
- !Standard Service Offer auctions reset quarterly.
~4.4M meters across the 5 EDC footprints.
25 co-ops · member-owned
Member-owned rural cooperatives. Wholesale generation pooled through Buckeye Power (the statewide co-op of co-ops).
- ✓Rates typically below IOU SSO in rural Ohio.
- ✓Capital credits returned to members over time.
~1M members across rural OH.
88 munis · city-owned
City-owned utilities. Joint wholesale procurement through American Municipal Power (AMP).
- ✓Often the cheapest residential rate in their city.
- ✓Locally accountable, city-council rate-setting.
~700K meters in muni territory statewide.
Other Ohio electric utilities
Listed for reference. These co-ops and municipals are not yet profiled individually on CallMePower.
Rural electric cooperatives (23 of 25)
- •Buckeye Rural Electric Coop.
- •Carroll Electric Coop.
- •Consolidated Coop.
- •Darke Rural Electric.
- •Firelands Electric Coop.
- •Frontier Power.
- •Guernsey-Muskingum Electric Coop.
- •Hancock-Wood Electric Coop.
- •Holmes-Wayne Electric Coop.
- •Licking Rural Electric (The Energy Coop).
- •Lorain-Medina Rural Electric.
- •Logan County Electric Coop.
- •Marion Rural Electric.
- •Mid-Ohio Energy Coop.
- •Midwest Electric (St. Marys).
- •North Central Electric Coop.
- •North Western Electric Coop.
- •Paulding Putnam Electric Coop.
- •Pioneer Electric Coop.
- •South Central Power Co..
- •Tricounty Rural Electric Coop.
- •Union Rural Electric Coop.
- •Washington Electric Coop.
All Ohio co-ops are Buckeye Power members, sharing wholesale generation through the Cardinal Power Plant and other joint resources.
Major municipal utilities (12 of 88)
- •Cleveland Public Power (largest muni).
- •Columbus Division of Power.
- •Hamilton (Butler County).
- •Bowling Green Municipal Utilities.
- •Dover Light & Power.
- •Westerville Electric Division.
- •Painesville Electric.
- •Orrville Utilities.
- •Wadsworth Electric & Communications.
- •Niles Electric.
- •Cuyahoga Falls Electric Department.
- •Piqua Power System.
Most Ohio munis are members of American Municipal Power (AMP), which provides wholesale generation, transmission scheduling and joint-action representation.
What deregulation lets you do
What you can do in Ohio
Ohio has had retail electricity choice since 1999, so in the 5 investor-owned EDC territories you have real options on the generation half of your bill. Co-op and muni customers stay with their local utility.
In IOU territory (AEP, Duke, FirstEnergy)
- ✓Stay on the Standard Service Offer, set through PUCO-approved quarterly auctions;
- ✓Pick a fixed-rate plan from any of the 70+ PUCO-certified competitive suppliers;
- ✓Enroll in your community's governmental aggregation (cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo run their own);
- ✓Go 100% renewable through a green plan backed by Ohio or PJM-region RECs.
In co-op or municipal territory
- !Retail choice does not apply, your co-op or city handles both wires and generation;
- ✓Rates are often lower than the neighbouring IOU, especially for co-ops with strong load factors;
- ✓Co-op members elect the board that sets rates and votes on capital projects;
- ✓Municipal customers can address rate concerns at the city council, just like any other utility.
Quick answers
Common questions Ohio households ask about their utility.
Look at the top of your last bill. AEP Ohio covers central, southern, eastern and northwestern Ohio. Duke Energy Ohio covers the Cincinnati region (Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clermont, Brown). The Illuminating Company, Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison are the three FirstEnergy operating companies covering Cleveland metro, Akron-Youngstown and Toledo respectively. The 25 rural co-ops cover the agricultural counties, and the 88 municipal utilities serve their own city limits.
Yes, if you live in one of the five PUCO-regulated IOU territories. Ohio retail choice has applied since 1999. You can stay on the default Standard Service Offer, pick any of the 70+ certified competitive suppliers directly, or enroll in your community's governmental aggregation. Natural gas is also deregulated; Columbia Gas of Ohio, Dominion Energy Ohio, Duke and Vectren deliver the gas, and you can pick a certified gas marketer for the supply.
Co-ops are member-owned and non-profit, returning excess margin to members as capital credits over time instead of paying it to shareholders. Municipal utilities operate as a public service of the city, with no shareholder-return expectation. Both also tend to have lower overhead than IOUs, and both pool their wholesale generation (Buckeye Power for co-ops, AMP for munis) to reach IOU-level scale on generation costs.
Always your delivery utility, 24/7. AEP Ohio: 1-800-672-2231 (text OUT to 25543). Duke Energy Ohio: 1-800-543-5599. FirstEnergy (Illuminating Co, Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison): 1-888-LIGHTSS. Co-op or muni customers: call your specific utility's number, usually printed on the bill.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), a five-member appointed body, regulates the five investor-owned EDCs' delivery rates, approves the Standard Service Offer auctions, and certifies competitive suppliers. The Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) is the statutory residential consumer advocate. The 25 rural co-ops set their own rates through member-elected boards; the 88 municipal utilities answer to their local city council.
Keep exploring Ohio energy
More U.S. states with energy choice
Same playbook, different utility. Pick another deregulated state to compare utilities, suppliers and switching rules.
