Ohio Deregulation

In the mid-1980s the federal government decided to end monopolies and pave way for a competitive marketplace in the energy industry. In 1999, the Ohio General Assembly passed Senate Bill 3, which set up an outline to deregulate the price of energy by permitting supplier competition. The law, which took effect January 2001, provided for a five-year market development period. During this time, the utilities’ rates were frozen to allow a competitive retail market to develop.

In 2001 Ohio consumers were finally provided with direct retail access to competitive electricity suppliers. Within the first few months, nearly 100,000 customers in First Energy territories, including Ohio Edison, Cleveland Illuminating, and Toledo Edison switched suppliers.

Utilities NAEA Services:

• AEP (Columbus Southern and Ohio Power)
• First Energy (Cleveland Electric Illuminating, Ohio Edison, & Toledo Edison)
• Dayton Power & Light
• Duke Energy Ohio

Ohio Quick Facts:

• Current interest in Ohio oil and natural gas exploration is focused on two Ohio shale plays–the Marcellus Shale and the Utica Shale.
• Ohio had the seventh largest crude oil refining capacity in the nation in 2014.
• In August 2003, a transmission failure in Ohio led to the largest blackout in North American history, affecting more than 50 million people.
• Coal fueled 67% of Ohio’s net electricity generation in 2014, natural gas contributed 18%, and nuclear energy added another 12%. 
• Ohio ranked sixth in the nation in 2012 in energy consumption by the industrial sector, and output from its factories accounted for 18% of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP). Ohio contributed 3.4% to the total U.S. manufacturing GDP in 2013.