Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

Media Center

Contact: Anthony Rodriguez
614-466-9547

Costs of 2008 windstorm should not be collected by Duke Energy says OCC

COLUMBUS, Ohio – February 24, 2010 – Duke Energy Ohio should not be allowed to collect $31 million in storm costs, the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) said in comments filed Tuesday at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). The utility is seeking to recover costs related to a 2008 windstorm that left customers in the dark for as long as nine days.

The OCC argued Duke has improperly allocated windstorm repairs as operating and maintenance costs when they actually are capital costs. A 2009 agreement among the OCC, Duke, the PUCO staff and others allowed Duke to only seek recovery of operational expenses related to the windstorm. The costs Duke has requested to collect are only recoverable through rate cases.

“The lack of electric reliability is an issue all Duke customers face,” Consumers’ Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander said. “Making major capital investments to fix outages and then calling them maintenance to collect all their costs is not in the best interests of customers. Capital investments that were made should not be recovered from consumers through this proposed storm cost charge.”

About 83 percent of Duke’s customers went without power as a result of the September 2008 windstorm caused by Hurricane Ike.

State law requires reliable service to be provided by all of Ohio’s state-regulated electric utilities. Over the last several years, the OCC and other consumer groups have scrutinized the adequacy of the maintenance of electric distribution lines. The OCC asked the PUCO to conduct reliability investigations of Ohio’s investor-owned electric utilities on numerous occasions. Those requests have been either denied or ignored.

About the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate, represents the interests of 4.5 million households in proceedings before state and federal regulators and in the courts. The state agency also educates consumers about electric, natural gas, telephone and water issues and resolves complaints from individuals. To receive utility information, brochures, schedule a presentation or file a utility complaint, residential consumers may call 1-877-PICKOCC (1-877-742-5622) toll free in Ohio or visit the OCC website at www.pickocc.org.