toledoblade.com --

Witness after witness blasted a proposed Toledo Edison rate increase yesterday, saying the price hike is ill-timed and would be too costly for struggling local households and businesses.

"It's pay, pay, pay," West Toledo resident Louis Boyer fumed during a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio hearing in Government Center.

Mr. Boyer, who lives on Social Security disability payments, said he had to have his telephone disconnected to make ends meet and cannot afford an increase in electric rates.

The two-hour session was one of a series of hearings held across the state by PUCO, which plans to make a decision by Dec. 31 on the rate increase request from Edison's parent, FirstEnergy Corp., Akron.

Under the proposal, rates for Edison's 314,000 customers in Lucas and nine other counties in northwest Ohio would rise at least 15 percent over the next three years. Rates would increase an average of 5.3 percent in 2009, 4 percent in 2010, and 6 percent in 2011. Hardest hit would be homes that heat with electricity, other heavy users, and commercial customers, which could see bigger spikes, company officials acknowledged.

Average households, however, likely wouldn't notice any increase in monthly bills until 2010, spokesman Ellen Raines added.

Louis Boyer of West Toledo, who lives on disability payments, tells the hearing that he can’t afford to pay more for electricity. He was among 17 people to speak at the hearing.
( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

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Seventeen people - among about 50 in attendance - showed up at Government Center to speak about the proposal. All were critical but one.

The proposal "does not deserve to be passed," Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner said.

"We are in a time of financial crisis in this country and in this community," he added, citing record home foreclosures, job losses, and high gasoline prices.

Noting that the proposal includes additional rate increases for which the company would put off billing customers, the Toledo mayor said: "It is the equivalent of charging part of your electric bill now on a credit card. What sense does it make?"

He urged PUCO to "stand up to FirstEnergy."

George Sarantou, a Toledo councilman, said the utility recorded profits of $1 billion last year. It should consider lowering rates, he added.

Toledo has the second-highest electric rates in Ohio among big cities, behind only Cleveland, which is served by a different FirstEnergy subsidiary, he added.

People in Toledo pay about 20 percent more for electricity than residents of Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati, PUCO reports show. As of Sept. 15, household electric bills averaged $102 a month in Toledo compared to $82 in Columbus.

But contrary to statements by several witnesses, electric rates in Toledo are not the highest in the nation.

Still, Patrick Nicholson, a longtime Toledo businessman and former chairman of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, said high electric rates have been "very very harmful" to economic development in the community.

An increase in electric rates could "accelerate" failure of local greenhouses, which bring in $115 million annually, a spokesman said. Four greenhouses closed last year, and another 20 percent are in danger of closing, said Joe Perlaky, of the Maumee Valley Growers. Electricity, gas, and other utilities account for a quarter of expenses for such firms, he added.

High electric rates "are driving businesses out of northwest Ohio," said James Ehlinger, a member of the Northwest Ohio Regional Port Authority. The organization covers Defiance, Paulding, Henry, and Fulton counties.

Edison's rate request is so complicated and includes so many variables that he has had difficulty telling his employer how much it will cost to operate a new piece of heavy equipment being installed.

But Edison officials defend the proposed increase, saying that customers pay about the same per kilowatt-hour for electricity as they did in 1996.

The firm's proposal would "ensure price stability while supporting appropriate investments in system reliability and new technology," the company said in a statement.

After listening to the blistering attacks, Ralph DiNicola, chief spokesman for FirstEnergy, said many of the comments seemed a reflection of the times. "There aren't many opportunities for people to talk about income problems they are having."

Contact Gary Pakulski at:
gpakulski@theblade.com
or 419-724-6082.

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