Higher Electricity Bills Coming to Dozens of Northeast Ohio Communities

NORTHEAST, OHIO - The early termination of a nine-year contract between FirstEnergy Solutions and the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) will mean 500,000 Ohioans will pay more for electricity in 2017. For the past three years, the deal between the two organizations has meant a savings of 6 percent off for residents and 4 percent off for small businesses on electricity bills.

The original contract between FirstEnergy and NOPEC was made in 2010 and scheduled to conclude in 2019, but both sides had early termination options. FirstEnergy exercised that option Oct. 28. Both sides are now involved in a legal battle.

NOPEC is a not-for-profit council of governments that was created in 2000 to create an energy “aggregator” that could help communities negotiate better deals on electricity and natural gas.

Patch has compiled a list of communities that may be impacted by the change of provider. Click on your community to learn more about how this situation unfolded:

• Avon and Avon Lake
• Beachwood
• Berea
• Brecksville
• Kent
• Lakewood
• Mayfield
• Mentor
• Shaker Heights
• Solon
• Strongsville

If you didn't spot your community on the list, you could still be impacted by the change. Check NOPEC's map of participating communities to see if your electric bill will be getting pricier in the new year.

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