Customers of electric Co-Ops are treated unfairly
I was reading an article in the Ohio Rural Electric Co-Op’s publication for April.
The author, Steve Oden, was commenting on whether electric consumers will be able to afford their electric bills in the coming years.
As a member of Buckeye Rural Electric Co-Op, and many others as well, I do not have the same rights as someone who is a customer of a non-Co-Op electric company, such as American Electric Power (AEP).
Isn’t it true that a customer of AEP can be on a budget plan or percentage of payment plan? As long as the customer of AEP makes regular payments, their electric is not disconnected.
On the other hand, a member of an electric Co-Op has no options. If we do not pay the full amount owed, our electric is disconnected. As a Co-Op member, we can’t make budget payments.
What I am saying is why don’t Co-Op members have the same rights as non-Co-Op members? I have several neighbors complaining that their electric has been disconnected and they owed as little as $15.
My family members who are customers of AEP have an average monthly bill less than $40. On the other hand, a customer of a rural Co-Op for the exact same usage would pay no less than $125.
Getting back to Oden, he talks about climate change legislation. Senate Bill 2191, the Liebermann-Warner Climate Security Act, would raise a typical household’s energy bill by $90 to more than $160 per month.
That amount would be for a customer of a non-Co-Op electric company. That mean a Co-Op members electric bill would probably increase the amount two-fold.
If the customers of Buckeye Rural cannot pay their bills at the current rate, I can only imagine how many customers would lose their service. Everyone I know who is using BREC would not have any electric.
This is unfair to the customers who cannot have electric service that is regulated by the Public Utilities Commission. Co-Ops may buy electric from non-Co-Ops and pass the extra expense on to the consumer. If they can buy electric from a non-Co-Op, why do the Co-Op members have to pay the entire bill without being able to be on a budget plan?
I would like to suggest that a person start a petition that allows Co-Op electric customers to make payment arrangements on their electric bills and be able to keep their electric on, as well as budget payments.
THERESA HENNEN
Willow Wood
Fuller receives eight years for robbery
A man accused of twice robbing the Speedway in Burlington pleaded guilty to the charges against him Wednesday in Lawrence... read more