{"id":332,"date":"2018-09-28T15:38:57","date_gmt":"2018-09-28T20:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/?p=332"},"modified":"2020-01-21T16:11:22","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T22:11:22","slug":"ohio-utilities-dont-share-tax-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/ohio-utilities-dont-share-tax-break\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Utilities Don\u2019t Want to Share Tax Break"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ohio\u2019s
It makes you want to scream!
Ohio\u2019s regulated utilities want to keep their profits from a federal tax break but
PUCO wants you to have lower electric rates!<\/em><\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Utilities Battle PUCO Over Lowering Electric Rates<\/h2>\n

In a conflict that has held on for most of the year, Ohio utilities remain resistant to lowering electric rates<\/a> after a major federal tax break despite the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) insisting tax savings should pass directly to consumers.<\/p>\n

PUCO wants to be sure the utilities’ tax break helps customers get cheap\u00a0Ohio electricity<\/a> rather than increasing shareholder profits. The commission has established a plan that requires utilities to return any money gained through the tax cut to customers.<\/p>\n

DP&L, FirstEnergy, American Electric Power and Duke Energy<\/a> object to PUCO\u2019s requirements\u00a0and are seeking ways to limit PUCO\u2019s enforcement authority. They\u00a0maintain that PUCO does not have the authority to dictate how a corporation uses its tax break.<\/p>\n

Tax Break For Ohio Utilities<\/h3>\n

In 2017 the tax rate fell dramatically from 35% to 21% for corporations like Ohio utilities. The magnitude of the tax break becomes evident in the figures from a utility\u2019s annual report. For example, Dayton Power & Light, which services half a million consumers in Ohio, is a subsidiary of DPL Inc., a corporation that has regularly reported revenues over $1.5B and net income over $225M.\u00a0The dramatic change in federal tax policy puts millions of dollars back on the table for these utilities.<\/p>\n

But the regulated utilities disagree that PUCO has the power to control how utilities use the money. DP&L has vocally opposed PUCO<\/a> claiming the agency can’t specify how companies return money or the amounts to be returned.<\/p>\n

PUCO Stands Up For Lowering Ohio Electricity Rates To Consumers<\/h3>\n

In response to the federal tax break, PUCO wants Ohio electric consumers to be able to compare electric rates<\/a> based on the new tax rate and not the old one. John Blackwood, specialist at the Office of the Ohio Consumers\u2019 Counsel, also points out that cheap electric rates<\/a> \u201ccan lead to more spending and investment, which is good for the Ohio economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stay updated as this story develops and potentially affects Ohio electric rates<\/a>. Consumers can still lower their electric bills when they compare electric rates apples-to-apples<\/a> at Ohio Energy Ratings. Easily switch<\/a> to the best electric supplier<\/a> and save with a cheaper rate today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Utilities Battle PUCO Over Lowering Electric Rates In a conflict that has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false},"categories":[9,41,42],"tags":[21,22,23,32,34,30,11,36],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":809,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions\/809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}