Ohio Power, an ideal whose time has come?

In Cincinnati they [the city manager] just raised the electric bill without a vote of the peoples representatives and we won’t take it anymore. Its past time we started a statewide joint venture that includes a electrical power Co-op that would include power generation. We will contribute the engineering [Fred Hargrove, PE, MBA] and Electrician [Lloyds General and Electrical Contractors, started 20 plus years ago by IBEW journeywoman and my wife]. From Cincinnati to Cleveland anyone interested?

Cincinnati Change would create a non-profit organization and appoint the first board of directors. Rates will be based on the cost of doing business. That doesn’t mean we will not earn a margin; it means that we return this excess to you, the member-consumer. The return of this margin is called patronage capital credits, these can be used by the owner and or can be passed on to others who need it more.

At the end of each year, these net margins will be allocated to each member on the basis of the dollar amount of energy used during that year. Annually you will receive a notice stating the amount of capital credits assigned to your account for that year. This notice is not a check and cannot be cashed or applied to your electric bill.

The statewide Board of Trustees will set a goal of returning patronage capital to eligible members on a 10-year cycle. When approved, checks are issued to eligible members for the amount credited to their account for the year being refunded.

Ohio's electricity Customer Choice Law

In 1999, Ohio enacted a law deregulating (some folks use the term "restructuring") the state's electric utility industry. The centerpiece of this legislation is its "customer choice" provisions, under which some customers were eligible to start shopping for new generators of their electric power on Jan. 1, 2001.

In essence, the law "unbundles" investor-owned utilities ("IOUs") — American Electric Power (AEP), Cinergy[Duke], FirstEnergy, and Dayton Power & Light. Under the old "regulated" system, an IOU owned everything from the power plant (or "generation") to the high-voltage wires that carry electricity from the plant ("transmission") to a substation near you, then the wires that carry the power locally from the substation to your home ("distribution").

Under the new deregulated system, each of those segments are broken into separate "cost bundles." Some — but not ALL — customers have the option to choose which "cost bundle," or company, generates their electricity.

The new law was expected to lower costs to consumers by introducing competing sources for power generation; it has not. We would take advantage of the opportunity, in the beginning, of energy marketing, in which companies purchase power from another firm and then resell it to customers. Although we will start like this but move to our own power generation developments such as wind, solar and yes we will even do it clean coal and nuke, only after extensive Research & Development and include state of the art security and safety support services.

A special choice for Cooperatives

In the new law, Ohio legislators recognized cooperatives are different in some very important ways — we are nonprofit, our consumers hold title to their own power plants, and we serve and are controlled by our member-owners, who elect our boards of directors.

Because of our unique relationship with our consumers, Ohio's electric co-ops were given a choice of when and if we want to "opt in" to competition — allow our members to choose new power suppliers.

But, unlike the IOUs, which are required by law to offer choice, the cooperatives in Ohio decided to wait, watch the market take shape, and learn. Why?

• Because the choice to "opt in" is irrevocable; it's permanent. Once it's "opted in," a cooperative can't "opt back out" again, even if it turns out to be bad for most members.
• Because even though our members don't have choice today doesn't mean they never will. The cooperatives can "opt in" whenever the time is right
• The cooperatives' costs of generating and transmitting power already are significantly lower than the state average. And because the members are the owners of their co-op, they also are an investor. The money they've earned in capital credits is being used today to provide operating capital for their business. Depending on how the new marketplace evolves, opting in could put some or all of their investment at risk.

Today, 25 different electric co-ops serve more than 380,000 homes and businesses in 77 of Ohio's 88 counties. Their combined service areas cover about 40 percent of the state's land areas, including most rural areas. It is in this area that Ohio's food and fiber are produced for the state's population, as well as a large export market.

Rural electric cooperatives average seven residential consumers per mile of line, in contrast to 31 for Ohio's eight investor-owned companies. The average revenue per mile of line for rural electric cooperatives in Ohio is about one-ninth that of the investor-owned companies.

And all these cooperatives are linked together with more than 600 other electric co-ops across the country in a national alliance called Touchstone Energy®.

Why do utility customers, in survey after survey, say they prefer to get their power from a cooperative? Because ownership makes the difference! Unlike the IOUs that must balance the interest of the consumer with that of Wall Street, electric cooperatives provide services solely in the interest of the member.

The results can be amazing. Each and every employee of the rural electric program works for the benefit of the member, while the member is treated with the uncommon distinction that he/she is the owner. We think that makes a powerful difference in today's competitive marketplace.

A special choice for Ohioans through the Cooperative

If you are an electric utility customer and are interested in generating your own electricity from renewable sources Ohio law allows you to do so if you meet the following criteria:

• The generating equipment for producing electricity must be intended primarily to offset part or all of the your own electricity requirements;
• Acceptable generation include solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, hydropower, microturbines, and fuel cells;
• Such generating equipment must also be located on a your own premises; and
• Must be connected in parallel to the electric utility’s system.

What is net metering?

Net metering is a billing arrangement where customers who produce their own electricity can receive a credit on their electric utility bills for any extra electricity produced by the customer that flows back onto the electric utility’s distribution system.

Generating your own electricity may reduce your electric bill in two ways:

1. The electricity you produce displaces electricity you would otherwise have purchased from the electric utility (or from a competitive supplier); and
2. Your electricity bill is lowered by the amount of electricity your generating system may feed back onto the electric utility’ system.

Cincinnati Change will help residents in the Cincinnati Empowerment Zone do this on a individualized basis. The new statewide organization can then pick it up as a operation.