In this issue:

• Residential electric customers need to remain protected
• Keep personal information private to reduce calls
• Q & A: Cutting the cord
• Customers with cell phones can keep their number
• New features await consumers at www.pickocc.org
• Power outage knowledge

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Residential electric customers need to remain protected

Over the past three years, electric choice has had some positive impact on residential consumers. Yet the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) has significant concerns that, left unresolved, will most likely cause many customers' rates to increase beginning on January 1, 2006.

As of November 2003, approximately 44 percent of residential customers in northern Ohio had switched to a competitive supplier. Outside of northern Ohio, competition is almost nonexistent with less than one percent of customers having switched suppliers.

Over 90 percent of all customers who switched did so as the result of the community-based aggregation programs permitted under the electric choice law. Aggregation allows local governments and community groups to form a buying pool for the purchase of electricity.

Residential consumers who have not switched to a new supplier are still benefiting from electric choice. A 5 percent discount in the price of electricity (known as the generation rate on customers' bills) was included in Ohio's electric choice law. By the end of 2003, savings had amounted to $380 million statewide.

Consumers will continue to benefit from the 5 percent discount during Ohio's transition period, the five-year timeframe where rates are frozen as the state moves from a fully regulated to a competitive market. The transition period began in January 2001 and is scheduled to end in December 2005.

At the end of the transition period, the generation rate will be determined largely by wholesale market prices. This generation rate makes up approximately two-thirds of customers' total monthly electric bill and is likely to increase unless effective competition develops in the wholesale market.

The OCC remains concerned about problems at the federal and regional levels that have prevented the competitive market from fully developing. For example, confusion and lack of direction at the federal level have continued to delay development of a single, fully functional regional transmission organization to serve Ohio. Regional transmission coordination is vital to the development of competition because it will allow power to move more efficiently, effectively and affordably throughout the Midwest.

In addition, state regulators have not made decisions on several important issues related to the future. While the law requires that a bidding process be used to obtain competitive pricing for consumers, final rules have yet to be established.

As the end of Ohio’s transition period grows closer with numerous issues still unresolved, the OCC will continue to advocate to protect consumers from potential rate increases.

This chart illustrates how many residential customers are being served by a competitive supplier as of November 2003. For example, of Toledo Edison’s 260,000 residential customers, a total of 102,657 (or, 39.5 percent of its customers) receive electricity from a competitive supplier.

Total customer figures include approximately 150,000 customers who receive low-income assistance through the Percentage of Income Payment Program (PIPP) and are not eligible to switch to a new supplier.

Switched customer figures include those customers who are being served by a competitive supplier as the result of local governments’ aggregation programs.

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Keep personal information private to reduce calls

Consumers are being bombarded with offers from companies for free items and services. Many of these companies use the offers to obtain consumers' personal information and gain permission to call them in the future even if they have signed up for the Do-Not-Call registry.

The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), the residential utility advocate, recommends that consumers be aware of the following information when trying to keep personal information private and avoid telemarketing calls:

• Read the fine print before completing entry forms. Businesses can take this information and use it as permission to call that consumer even if his or her telephone number is included on the Do-Not-Call list.

• Completing an application, asking for more information and obtaining an estimate on services allow a business to continue contacting that consumer for three months. Consumers should ask to be placed on a company's internal Do-Not Call list, which prohibits the company from calling for five years.

• Even though consumers may have placed their number on the national Do-Not-Call list, they can still receive calls from companies with which they do business. To prevent these calls, consumers should ask to have their number placed on individual companies' internal Do-Not-Call lists.

Consumers continuing to receive telemarketing calls after placing their numbers on the Do-Not-Call list can file a complaint at www.donotcall.gov or toll free at 1-888-382-1222.

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Q & A: Cutting the cord

Q How many consumers have decided to drop their home telephone service and rely on cell phones for all their calling?

A According to a national survey by the Yankee Group, a communications research and consulting firm, fewer than 4 percent of respondents over the age of 24 rely exclusively on cell phones.

Q I contact 9-1-1 from a cell phone, will the emergency system automatically show my location?

A No. While a home telephone will always indicate to most9-1-1 operators the location from which you are calling, emergency operators in many areas cannot currently receive a cell phone user’s location.

Q How reliable is a cell phone compared to a home telephone?

A Home telephone customers receive a clear signal from their telephone unless a problem exists in the wiring or their cordless phone is too far from its base. Since cell phones must rely on a signal to a tower, obstacles such as tall buildings and bad weather may result in the inability to make a call or reduce line quality.

Q Do both home telephone and cell phone companies need to comply with Ohio’s Minimum Telephone Service Standards (MTSS)?

A No. While traditional local telephone companies must comply with the MTSS, cell phone companies do not. These standards provide consumer protections, including the length of time companies may take to restore service.

Q Do cell phone plans provide unlimited local calling?

A No. Typically, cell phone customers subscribe to a package of peak and off-peak (night and weekend) minutes. Most home telephone customers enjoy unlimited local calling for a flat monthly price.

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Customers with cell phones can keep their number

Many cell phone customers wishing to shop for a new provider have finally been relieved of a major obstacle - the need to change telephone numbers.

Since November 24, 2003, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that all cellular telephone companies allow the transfer f customers’ numbers from one cell provider to another in the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. By May 24, 2004, the companies must transfer the numbers of customers in all areas of the country.

In Ohio, customers in the Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Youngstown metropolitan areas are among those that have been able to keep their cell phone numbers since November.

Before switching cellular companies, customers who wish to keep their number should know that:

• It is important to bring a copy of a recent cell phone bill to their new company so that the customer's exact name and address is matched to their existing number.
• They should expect to purchase a new cell phone to be able to receive service from a new provider. Typically, cell phones are only compatible with one specific provider.
• Most cell phone numbers may only be transferred within the same metropolitan area. For example, a wireless customer living in Cleveland may not be able to keep his or her number if deciding to establish service with a new provider in Columbus or Toledo.
• Termination fees and other payments required under a customer's current contract may apply. Customers should read their current contract carefully before making a decision to switch to a new service provider.
• A cell phone company may not prevent a customer from taking his or her number to a different carrier, even if that customer owes an outstanding balance or a termination fee.

Customers wishing to switch companies and keep their number should contact their newly selected provider for more details and ensure that the transfer is available.

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New features await consumers at www.pickocc.org

When residential consumers visit www.pickocc.org they will find important statewide utility news, more interactive activities, improved navigational tools and an updated visual appearance.

The new design will make it quicker and easier for consumers to locate the information that will help them become more knowledgeable about their utility services.

The Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) website makes information about current developments in the utility industry available 24 hours a day with the click of a mouse. Several new features have been added to help consumers stay informed about their utilities and locate the information quickly. Some of the items include:

• An area dedicated to "Top News" within each industry section for electric, natural gas, telecommunications and water.
• More complete, consistent drop-down menus. Each of the drop-down menus now list all the categories of information available about the specific topic.
• "How the OCC Can Help You" section provides information about the services available through OCC's toll-free hotline and provides comments made by consumers the OCC has helped.
• An events calendar that lists the location and topic of OCC presentations to groups and organizations throughout the state.
• The addition of industry-specific poll questions. The OCC values input from consumers, who can make their comments count by responding to a variety of utility questions located throughout the site.

Many of the changes resulted from comments consumers submitted in an online survey last year. Consumers who wish to comment or offer additional suggestions about the website can send an e-mail to webmaster@occ.state.oh.us.

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Power outage knowledge

From quick flickers of light consumers might experience in their homes to widespread outages that can leave entire cities in the dark, there are many reasons why the power goes out. To understand outages, it’s important to know the different components needed to produce and transport power.

There are three main components to producing electricity:

Generation – The production of electricity at a power plant.

Transmission – The high-voltage lines that transport the electricity from the power plant to the utility company’s distribution system.

Distribution – The power lines that carry electricity into consumers’ homes.

If any one of these areas experiences a problem or interruption it could result in a power outage.

Here are some examples of problems that could cause power outages:

At the power plant

• Mechanical problems - a boiler or a turbine used to create electricity could break.

• Safety shutdowns – problems with the cooling system could cause a plant to be shut down.

• Fuel availability - problems with transporting or delivering fuel. Problems could be as simple as a frozen pile of coal.

On the transmission lines

• Weather-related disruptions - caused by storms, ice, and wind.

• Line damage - tree branches, kites, animals and other obstacles can get in the way of power flowing into your community.

• Overloading - if a transmission line is unable to handle the excess amount of power an overload can occur.

On the distribution lines

• Weather conditions are an important factor since many parts of the distribution system are right in consumers' backyards and are more susceptible to damage from falling tree branches.

• Electricity that is flowing through underground lines also can be interrupted due to moisture or damage caused by deep digging.

Safeguards are built into each part of the electric system to limit the number and duration of power outages. For example, most cities and neighborhoods are able to receive electricity from more than one power line. If the primary line goes down, a secondary line can act as a substitute.

When consumers do experience a power outage, it is important to report it to the local electric utility. The Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) can help consumers report an outage if they are unable to reach their electric utility. Consumers can call the OCC toll free at1-877-PICKOCC (1-877-742-5622).

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"Kudos and congratulations to the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel for providing educational tools... Their direct and hands-on approach will strengthen and enhance Ohio’s chances of being a national leader in developing new ways to better understand the utility services that we enjoy on a daily basis."

James B. Ewers, Jr. Ed.D.
Associate Executive Director for Student Affairs
Miami University, Middletown