OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.B. 251 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for S.B. 251’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsor: Sen. Smith
Effective date:
Kathleen A. Luikart, Research Analyst
SUMMARY
Requires a public utility serving more than 250,000 Ohio residents to file a rate case
with the Public Utilities Commission (PUCO) at least every four years beginning not later
than four years after the bill’s effective date, except as follows:
The public utility must file a rate case application four years after the date the PUCO
order setting rates for the pending rate case becomes final, if the utility has a rate
case pending with PUCO on the bill’s effective date;
The public utility must file a rate case application not later than six months after the
bill’s effective date, if the public utility has not filed a rate case application during
the ten-year period prior to the bill’s effective date.
Requires a public utility serving more than 250,000 Ohio residents that has not filed a
rate case application during the ten-year period prior to the bill’s effective date to
complete operating statements of its last ten fiscal years as an exhibit to be filed with
the utility’s rate case application.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Rate case filing period
The bill requires public utilities that serve more than 250,000 Ohio residents to file a
rate case application under the Ohio utility ratemaking law at least every four years and
specifies that the utilities must file the application not later than four years after the bill’s
effective date, except as described in Table 1 below.1
1 R.C. 4909.181(A), (B), and (C)(1).
May 28, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
“Public utility” definition in current utility law
Under Ohio utility law, a “public utility” (unless specifically excepted) includes any
corporation, company, copartnership, person, or association that is an electric light company,
gas company, natural gas company, water-works company, sewage disposal system company,
pipe-line company, heating or cooling company, street railway company, suburban railroad
company, interurban railroad company, telephone company, messenger company, and for-hire
motor carrier. A public utility includes a public utility that operates its utility not for profit
However, the law excepts the following from being a public utility:
An electric light company that operates its utility not for profit;
A public utility that is owned or operated by a municipal corporation;
A public utility, other than a telephone company, that is a cooperative, owned and
operated exclusively by and solely for its customers;
A railroad which owns, operates, manages, or controls a railroad or part of a railroad as
a common carrier engaged in the transportation of passengers or property;
Any provider, including a telephone company, regarding its provision of:
Advanced services (defined in federal law as high speed, switched, broadband,
wireline telecommunications allowing users to send and receive voice, data,
graphics, or video telecommunications using any technology);
Broadband service;
Information service;
Internet protocol-enabled service;
Telecommunications service;
A service or technology not available for commercial use on September 12, 2010, or
earlier.2
Rate case filing requirement exceptions
The bill establishes a rate case application filing requirement that generally applies to
public utilities, but it also includes two exceptions to that filing date requirement. The
exceptions and the initial filing date after the bill’s effective date for those exceptions are listed
in Table 1 below.
2 R.C. 4905.02 and 4905.03, not in the bill; 47 Code of Federal Regulations 51.5, not in the bill.
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As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
Table 1
Description of application filing Initial filing date requirement
date exception following bill’s effective date
General rate case N/A At least every four years, beginning not
application filing date later than four years after the bill’s
requirement effective date.
Exception #13 The public utility has a rate case The public utility must file a rate case
pending with PUCO on the bill’s application four years after the date the
effective date. PUCO order setting rates for the
pending rate case becomes final.
Exception #24 The public utility has not filed a The public utility must file an
rate case application during the application not later than six months
ten-year period prior to the after the bill’s effective date.
bill’s effective date.
Rate case application operating statement exhibit
Under ongoing utility ratemaking law, a public utility that files an application for an
increase in any rate, joint rate, toll, classification, charge, or rental must file, in duplicate,
certain exhibits with the application. Among the exhibits that must be filed is a complete
operating statement of the utility’s last fiscal year.5 The bill revises the operating statement
requirement for a public utility that serves more than 250,000 Ohio residents, if the public
utility has not filed a rate case application during the ten-year period prior to the bill’s effective
date. A utility serving this number of Ohio residents must file complete operating statements of
the utility’s last ten fiscal years.6
The operating statement under continuing law and new ten-year fiscal requirement
must show in detail all of the public utility’s receipts, revenues, and incomes from all sources,
all of its operating costs and other expenditures, and any analysis the public utility deems
applicable to the matter referred to in the application.7
3 R.C. 4909.181(C)(2)(a).
4 R.C. 4909.181(C)(2)(b).
5 R.C. 4909.18(B)(1).
6 R.C. 4909.18(B)(2).
7 R.C. 4909.18(B)(3).
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As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
Public utilities serving over 250,000 Ohio residents
Some public utility customer totals are available in utility annual reports filed with
PUCO. These reports are available on the “Search annual reports” page of the PUCO website.8
The table below lists customer totals gleaned from reports of PUCO-regulated electric and gas
utilities that have more than 250,000 customers. The table includes the number of residential
customers and the number of all customers as shown in the utility’s 2023 annual reports. Also
included in the table are customer totals for the largest PUCO-regulated water company and
sewage disposal system company.
Table 2 9
Average Number Average Number
of All Ohio of Ohio Residential
Utility type Utility Name
Customers per Customers per
Month Month
Electric Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company 755,417 672,777
Dayton Power & Light Company 536,317 474,755
Duke Energy Ohio 746,993 677,771
Ohio Edison Company 1,065,866 949,688
Ohio Power Company 1,519,057 1,320,046
The Toledo Edison Company 314,502 277,397
8Public Utilities Commission, “Search annual reports,” available at: community.puco.ohio.gov, accessed
on May 22, 2024.
9 Customer data for electric companies can be found in the “FERC Financial Report, FERC Form 1”
required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The electric companies listed in the table
filed this report with PUCO.
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As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
Table 3 10
Number of Ohio
Number of All
Utility type Utility Name Residential
Ohio Customers
Customers
Gas Columbia Gas of Ohio 1,497,531 1,385,880
Dominion East Ohio 1,216,016 1,129,869
Duke Energy Ohio 455,615 425,515
Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio 333,165 308,622
Table 4
Number of Ohio
Number of All
Utility type Utility Name Residential
Ohio Customers
Customers
Water/Sewer Aqua Ohio, Inc. 157,695 N/A
Aqua Ohio Wastewater, Inc. 11,306 N/A
Possible clarity issue
Since the bill applies to public utilities serving more than 250,000 “residents of the
state,” it will be necessary to determine who are “residents” to which the bill applies. The bill
does not expressly exclude nonresidential customers, such as industrial or commercial
customers, of Ohio-located public utilities.
Moreover, it is not clear whether the bill refers to residential customers or the number
of residents at each individual customer account location. Although it is possible to determine
how many customers a certain utility serves, it might be difficult to determine how many
residents the utility serves for each utility’s customer accounts. It also might be difficult to
determine if the bill applies to certain utilities with fewer than 250,000 customer accounts, but
possibly two or more residents per account holder.
If the intention is to apply the bill to utilities serving more than 250,000 customer
accounts or residential customers, an amendment may be needed to clarify the bill’s reference
10 The Schedule 33 report within the Dominion East Ohio Annual Report notes that customer totals
reflect the average customer count during the period. The other gas companies’ Schedule 33 reports do
not specify that customer counts are average customer counts.
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As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
to “residents of the state” in Revised Code sections 4909.18(B)(2) and 4909.181(B). If the bill is
changed to clarify to what type of customer the bill applies, it also will be clear how to
determine what public utilities (as defined above) meet the 250,000 or more threshold and are
subject to the bill’s rate case application requirements.
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 04-23-24
ANSB0251IN-135/ar
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As Introduced
Statutes affected: As Introduced: 4909.18