Energy Harbor has sent letters to Brookfield Township residents who were covered under Trumbull County’s electric aggregation program stating that they are no longer eligible for the program.
Township residents, however, do have an alternative available with better rates, at least for the short term.
It is unclear how some township residents got included in the county’s electric aggregation program. Some years ago, a board of trustees established Brookfield’s own electric aggregation program, making township residents ineligible for the county’s plan.
“How they were on Trumbull County’s just blows my mind because somebody wasn’t paying attention,” said township Trustee Dan Suttles. “If you look at the Trumbull County commissioners’ website, they have something about the aggregation and they have three or four communities that are excluded from their program – Brookfield’s one of them.”
On Feb. 22, Suttles noted he had received 17 calls in the last three days from township residents who have lost access to the county’s aggregation program.
The letters coincide with the expiration of the county’s previous electric supplier agreement and the signing of a new one with Dynegy – which is affiliated with Energy Harbor – that covers the period March through May 2026. The commissioners’ agreement sets the residential cost at 7.9 cents per kilowatt hour, an increase over the old rate of 4.53 cents.
Township residents can opt in to the township’s program with AEP Energy at a rate of 5.975 cents. The rate is good until the end of July, when the contract expires. Call AEP at 614-682-4374 to get signed up for Brookfield’s program, and have a copy of your last electric bill handy.
Residents who do not opt in with the township’s program or secure a supplier on their own will pay the Ohio Edison default rate. Ohio Edison’s “price to compare rate” is 7.9877 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
The township’s energy broker, Jay Sell of Aspen Energy, has started shopping around for a new contract, Suttles said.
“He’s looking every day,” Suttles said. “Hopefully, we get better than the county.”
Residents also have the option of shopping around for an electric energy supplier. Suttles cautioned electric shoppers to ask if the rate is fixed or variable and whether there are opt-in and opt-out fees. The trustees have always sought to have a fixed rate without opt-in or opt-out fees.
Electric customers can shop around at www.energychoice.ohio.gov
Editor’s note: in the initial posting of this story, NEWS ON the Green referred to Energy Harbor as the retail sales arm of First Energy/Ohio Edison. Vistra announced in March 2024 that it had bought Energy Harbor Corp. Energy Harbor remains an energy supplier option for Ohio Edison customers.
