Stop AEP Rate Hikes!
Tell PUCO to check AEP’s Greed
Take Action
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AEP Territory Deep Canvass
Ongoing throughout August
Join us for a deep phone canvass of our community. We want to reach out to AEP customers and beyond, and hear how utility companies affect their lives. We also want to talk to folks about how to organizing and fight back and well as inform folks of upcoming events.
Don’t know anything about deep canvassing? No problem. We’ll support folks with a training on the system, tools, and history of deep canvassing. We’ll also have multiple shifts available to support people’s schedules.
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Rally at the PUCO
Description gEarlier this year, AEP proposed an egregious rate hike to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), despite customers battling ongoing inflation and many in central Ohio already seeing a steep increase this summer in communities without community aggregation. Throughout 2023 we have been committed to blocking this price increase, and we’ve taken action by gathering over 1,000 petition signatures, hosting community meetings, deep canvassing, and more! In August, we gathered outside of AEP Headquarters to rally and demand an end to these unjust price hikes.
Last month, AEP announced a new settlement agreement, amending their original request before the PUCO. Now, with this new stipulation, AEP Ohio customers are looking at a 4.5% increase in rates over the next four years, lasting from June 2024 to May 2028. The increase would boost rates by less than 1% per year, or $1.50 per month, for the average residential customer
While the lower increase proposed in the settlement is an improvement, the Coalition to Stop AEP Rate Hikes is still demanding to block the rate hike altogether. The PUCO will issue a final decision by the end of 2024, so our work continues to let the PUCO know we’re watching!
Join us in demanding NO RATE HIKES, this time at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio! The PUCO must hold these greedy utility companies accountable, and make the right decision in this case by stopping all rate hikes for Ohioans. This Rally at the PUCO will take place on October 10th at 9:30am, the same day as the start of the next round of evidentiary hearings, this time on the new settlement amending the AEP electric security plan.
See you there!
AEP reaps huge profits and still asks for more.
AEP customer bills are going up 28% on June 1. On top of this increase, AEP is asking for an additional 5% rate hike to begin in 2024, which will go up 2% more each year until 2030.
Between 2020 and 2022, AEP shut off power to at least 373,065 people. 164,000 of those were Ohio residents, many in black and brown communities, who were cut off between June 2021 and May 2022. This is twice as many shutoffs as any other company in Ohio.
AEP reported huge profits in 2022. All shutoffs, company wide, could have been paid for with less than 1% of the dividends given to shareholders.
The CEO of AEP made over 16 million dollars in 2022. That’s almost twice what the CEO of First Energy made.
AEP continues to fight against sustainability.
AEP continues to hold the largest ownership of dirty OVEC coal plants that only exist because the cost of keeping them open is subsidized by Ohio ratepayers to the tune of 211 million dollars over the last 2 years, and up to 850 million by 2030.
Throughout 2021 AEP aggressively lobbied against proposals to clean up the utility sector.
The legacy of HB6 was the stifling of energy efficient programs that would help save Ohio ratepayers money.
Despite what they say, AEP does not have the interests of Ohioans at heart.
We need a better and more robust accounting of utilities in Ohio, and this needs to happen before rates are increased to Ohio consumers. PUCO shouldn’t allow greedy and corrupt companies to take advantage of working people.