Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

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Communicating with Consumers

The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) worked hard in 2008 to connect with Ohio’s 4.5 million residential consumer households on utility issues. Whether it was through the news media, the Internet or hands-on presentations, the OCC communications staff was very active and kept residential utility customers informed about rate increases and other utility issues, educating them on how to exercise better control of the amount of energy they use.

Media relations

The OCC’s connection with consumers through the news media yielded 90 press releases containing key information about residential utility issues. The communications staff also responded to more than 1,200 media inquiries, prepared guest columns, letters to the editors of newspapers as well as providing online content. In addition, the media staff supported the work of the agency during 2008 and developed additional printed materials for Ohio consumers.

OCC website and online presence

The OCC website continued to receive praise in 2008 from visitors for its information and ease of use and served as a key link of information for Ohio’s residential consumers. The OCC webmaster improved the website’s accessibility for people with visual impairments. This year, the site also featured a section dedicated to the new electric legislation and a page highlighting the Consumers’ Counsel’s testimony. There were nearly 87,000 visitors to the OCC website with 76 percent as new visitors.

Outreach and education

The OCC’s Outreach and Education staff met with more than 43,000 Ohio consumers at more than 1,200 outreach events in 2008. Staff members conducted educational public outreach on a variety of utility-related topics including energy efficiency, renewable energy and utility assistance. The O&E staff presented speeches for senior and service groups; staffed booths at shows, conferences, and health and energy fairs; participated in local public hearings and provided train-thetrainer programs to social service agencies about energy assistance programs. The O&E staff’s most important role is providing consumers with current utility information and educating and assisting them with making wise utility decisions – from choosing a natural gas supplier to increasing the energy efficiency of their homes.

As their utility bills continued to increase, consumers remained interested in learning about ways to control costs. More than 5,000 consumers participated in more than 200 workshops to learn about energy efficiency and weatherization.

Rate cases also proved to be a significant educational opportunity for the O&E staff as record numbers of consumers attended local public hearings to voice their opinions about potential increases to their electric, natural gas and water rates. Prior to each set of public hearings in the respective utility rate cases, the O&E staff informed consumers about potential increases and their effect, and encouraged them to attend the hearings in person or write letters to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO).

Low-Income Dialogue Group drafts revamped PIPP rules

The Low Income Dialogue Group (LIDG), a working group of consumer advocates from many organizations and agencies in Ohio, met monthly during 2008 to identify and resolve utility-related concerns affecting low-income Ohioans. The OCC and its advocate partners in the LIDG worked to affect significant reform to Ohio’s Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) as well as the credit and disconnection rules that impact consumers’ ability to establish and maintain essential utility services.

The PUCO’s five-year review of its credit and disconnection rules, which includes the natural gas PIPP rules, began in 2007 and was completed during 2008. The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD), which has statutory authority over the electric PIPP program, issued its initial rules on that program this year as well. The LIDG met with staff from both agencies throughout the year and provided input prior to the release of draft natural gas rules, and the resulting rules contained many of its recommendations. The OCC and others from the LIDG agencies filed comments and reply comments with the PUCO addressing areas of concern about the proposed rules. The PUCO issued final rules Dec. 17, 2008. As 2009 began, the OCC along with its LIDG partners was planning to file an application for re-hearing in a further effort to address its concerns with some of the proposed rules.

The proposed electric PIPP rules were submitted by the ODOD to the Ohio Joint Committee on Rules Review (JCARR) for approval Nov. 26, 2008. As part of that process, the ODOD scheduled a public hearing for January 2009. At that hearing, the OCC and other members of the LIDG will offer testimony to explain concerns with key issues in the ODOD’s proposed electric PIPP rules.

Both sets of rules were pending at the end of 2008. Any changes will be implemented in time for the 2009-2010 winter heating season. Some significant reform to the PIPP program and other rules is anticipated as a result of the efforts of all the parties. The OCC and the LIDG will continue to advocate for programs and policies that help vulnerable Ohioans who are financially at risk stay connected to their utility services.

Ohio Anti-Poverty Task Force

On May 28, 2008, Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order creating the Ohio Anti-Poverty Task Force. The task force, which includes Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander and is comprised of leaders from government, private non-profit agencies and the private sector, was developed after the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies sponsored a public forum to address the growing problem of poverty in Ohio.

The OCC staff participated in the Task Force Interagency Work Group, which provided recommendations to reduce barriers, expand access to services and increase efficiency by eliminating duplicated programs.

A set of short-term recommendations was submitted to Gov. Strickland on Sept. 8, 2008. A set of long-term goals will be forthcoming in the spring of 2009.

Hispanic outreach

In an effort to educate and resolve utility issues for the Hispanic/Latino community, the OCC continued to work with many agencies and coalition groups that serve the Spanish-speaking community. Hispanic/Latino events like the Hispanic Festival in Columbus and Cinci-Cinco Festival in Cincinnati provided an opportunity for the OCC to educate and reach out to large numbers of Hispanic consumers. Regular attendance at boards and coalitions allowed the OCC to stay in close contact with the Hispanic community. Redesigning El Informador, the Spanish-version of the Consumers’ Corner newsletter, and increasing its distribution were key initiatives during 2008.

Community Advisory Panels learn about the status of current utility issues

Community Advisory Panels continued to serve as a link to consumer organizations and agencies in Ohio. The OCC conducted meetings in the spring and fall of 2008 during which CAP members learned about the proposed electric service plans (ESP), proposed natural gas rate increases and new minimum telephone service standards (MTSS).

At the spring meetings, the OCC solicited feedback from CAP members regarding current publications through an interactive group process. CAP members reviewed and provided comment on several publications. The OCC planned to use the survey results to make changes and improvements to current and future publications.

The OCC held the fall CAP meeting in conjunction with public forums about the proposed electric security plans where panel members learned about the new electric issues.

Public forums provide insight into proposed electric rate plans

Decisions made in 2008 about Ohio’s electric rates will affect Ohio consumers for many years to come. In leading the Ohio Consumer and Environmental Advocates, the OCC hosted seven public forums to educate consumers about the proposed new Electric Security Plans developed by all of Ohio’s publicly owned electric companies.

Attended by several hundred consumers, the forums assisted consumers in gaining a better understanding of the proposed rate plans. Locations for the forums included Warren, Sandusky, Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Athens, and Cincinnati. Panel speakers addressed issues such as an overview of the plans, their impact on senior and low-income consumers and environmental issues.

Consumers speak out at local public hearings

During 2008, the OCC was dedicated to keeping consumers and consumer groups informed about their opportunities to testify in local public hearings about utility issues. Turning out in record numbers, 2,779 consumers attended 64 local public hearings on proposed increases in natural gas, electric and water rates. More than 700 consumers testified in opposition to the proposed increases before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). In addition, more than 900 wrote letters of concern to the PUCO.

Throughout Ohio, consumers who attended the hearings represented a diverse audience of ages and occupations. Key concerns included the poor economy, difficulty managing current utility bills and having to choose between medicine, food and utility bills. Consumers pointed out that they did not believe the utilities were justified in seeking increases as many were reporting healthy profits throughout the year. The overwhelming majority of consumers urged the PUCO to seriously consider the proposed increases in light of the issues they addressed. In some cases, the OCC and other parties were able to negotiate with the utilities so that many of the final increases were significantly less than what the company requested.

“Stay Connected” and “Train-the-Trainer” programs reach out to low-income advocates

Consumer utility disconnections increased in 2008. One in 10 Ohio households (about 424,000) were disconnected from their electric or natural gas service in the last 12 months. With the U.S. officially declared in a recession, an increasing number of consumers turned to the OCC seeking assistance programs to help them maintain utility service.

The OCC’s outreach and education specialists provided training about the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP), Home Energy Assistance Plan (HEAP) and Lifeline to approximately 2,000 service workers at 100 trainthe- trainer sessions and encouraged consumers to call the OCC to prevent future utility disconnects. Participants received a comprehensive workbook including detailed information about all of the utility assistance programs and the credit and disconnect rules.

Colleges and universities host National Consumer Protection Week activities

“Financial Literacy a Sound Investment,” the theme for the 2008 National Consumer Protection Week, proved to be an important message for students at Ohio colleges and universities. Joining with federal and state agencies, including the Ohio Attorney General, the Social Security Administration and the Credit Union League, the OCC held five fairs at Ohio colleges.

Using an interactive game as a learning tool, each agency raised awareness among students about credit cards, scams and the importance of reading the fine print before signing contracts. Through this effort, the OCC reached more than 1,500 consumers.

Weatherization, energy efficiency seminars and Ohio State Fair teach consumers about savings

Energy efficiency continued to be a hot topic with consumers anxious to learn ways to improve energy usage and lower their energy bills. The OCC provided presentations featuring energy efficiency topics as well as hands-on weatherization workshops. The workshops featured low-cost and no-cost energy efficiency measures to keep indoor air comfortable year-round. With energy prices continuing to rise, the OCC’s weatherization workshops and energy efficiency presentations attracted more than 3,000 consumers participating in 147 sessions. Participants learned to install a door sweep, insulate windows with heavy plastic, replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs and weather-strip around doors.

“Are You a Smart Energy Consumer” was the theme of OCC’s booth at the 2008 Ohio State Fair. It is estimated that nearly 7,000 consumers of all ages visited the booth to answer questions about energy efficiency. Representatives from OCC’s Consumer Services Division were on hand each day to answer individual consumer questions and respond to complaints about their services.

 

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