A letter describing the city’s new plan to generate electricity from green energy alerted many Columbus residents that the program’s launch date was fast approaching and confused some.
The letter, sent last week by Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther and AEP Energy’s Chief Solutions Officer, Scott D. Slisher, was sent as a reminder to Columbus residents that the Voter-approved Community Choice Aggregation program, also known as Clean Energy Columbusshould start soon.
From June AEP Energy will deliver “100% Local Clean Ohio Energy for Eligible Residents and Small Businesses” by May 2034, the letter said. Participants are automatically enrolled in the program, and those who wish to choose our program have until April 29th to do so.
However, what caught the attention of some readers was the price.
“The program participants receive a 100% price for clean energy supply of 5.499 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in the first 12 months,” the letter says.
The way the price was formatted in the letter caused confusion among some readers and prompted some to search the neighborhood forum app Nextdoor for answers.
“I assumed that enrolling would save costs, and I have the feeling that I am missing something. My current AEP tariff is 0.05 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh),” wrote a resident of the German village. “The price for the city’s total supplier, AEP Energy, is 5.49 cents per kWh. Isn’t that much more expensive? Why should someone switch?”
AEP Energy often writes its prices in US dollars, which is the equivalent of $ 0.05499 per kWh for the price of clean energy. Instead, the price was quoted in cents, which led some residents to misunderstand the letter and believe they would be paying $ 5.49 per kWh under the new program.
Scott Blake, a spokesman for AEP Energy, said Friday that the price per kWh is definitely 5.499 cents.
“It’s 5.499 cents. When people look at their bill or the Clean Energy Columbus website, it is written as $ 0.05499,” Blake said. “But it’s 5.499 cents one way or another.”
Finally, users cleared up any confusion, but not without asking more questions about how the new city’s clean energy program will actually work.
What is Columbus Clean Energy?
Clean Energy Columbus is an “opt-out” plan aggregation plan for green electricity that promises to supply 100% of the city’s electricity needs with renewable energies by 2023.
The program, also known as Issue 1, was approved by an overwhelming majority in November 2020. Almost 76% of Columbus voters, or 278,591 people, voted for the program.
AEP Energy, which has won the city’s award for the program, will provide the largest city in Ohio with power from brand new wind and solar parks to be built in Ohio as part of the billion dollar proposal.
Ohio law allows residents to band together to negotiate better prices and cleaner supplies by grouping customers into a single sales contract. There are 390 community choice electrical aggregations registered in Ohio. including one in Worthington.
However, Columbus’ generator set is unique in that it is the only one to negotiate a 100% new green energy supply. The program will be the third largest in the nation and the largest in Ohio, according to the program’s website.
How do I register for the program?
You don’t need to sign up to sign up for the program.
Every home and small business customer in town will be automatically added to the plan, with the option to remove themselves if they so choose and choose a different electricity supplier.
If you would like to unsubscribe from the program, you have until April 29th to do so. There are two ways to log out.
You can call AEP Energy Customer Service Team at 888-307-0264 between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays, or fill out a form that eligible residents should have received with a letter from the city.
Those residents who choose to keep the plan will periodically be given time slots to opt out of the program in the future, and those who opt out may choose to opt in too. AEP Energy has predicted that 10% to 20% of customers will eventually opt out and choose another utility from the Ohio open power market.
How Much Does It Cost Taxpayers?
It is not taxpayer money, but users’ electricity tariffs could be affected by the switch.
For the first year of the program, residents pay $ 0.05499 per kWh. The price will reset in June 2022. This is to ensure that “you benefit from a competitive price,” according to the city’s letter.
Users will continue to receive a monthly bill from their local electricity company, AEP Ohio. Billing and service level also remain the same. There are no registration fees and there are no cancellation fees if residents decide to deregister later.
I own a small business. How do I know if it’s suitable for Clean Energy Columbus?
Any local small business that consumes less than 700,000 kWh per year is eligible. Clean Energy Columbus is currently only available to eligible residents and small businesses.
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