Canton Reporter

CANTON, Ohio - The Canton Electric Aggregation Program will be entering its fourth year, offering residents a low and stable alternative for electricity generation. Opt-out letters will be sent to current and newly eligible accounts in the program, with the city's fixed rate of 4.76 cents/kWh continuing until March 2025.

Residents who wish to continue in the program or new accounts looking to join do not need to take any action in response to the opt-out letter. Only those who do not wish to participate should respond.

For residents who have already chosen a supplier on their own, they can still join the program and receive the same rate and conditions as their neighbors. They will need to contact Energy Harbor to enroll and should review their current supply contracts for any early termination fees.

The City of Canton is pleased to have made this program possible, but requests that residents direct their questions to Energy Harbor at 866-636-3749, as the City offices are not equipped to handle a large volume of calls.

Under the Canton Electric Aggregation Program, local officials bring citizens together to gain group buying power for competitively priced electricity from a certified retail electric generation supplier. The program was made possible by a vote in November 2011, allowing the City to contract for an electric generation supplier on behalf of its residents.

Energy Harbor is the current program supplier, selected through a competitive proposal process. AEP Ohio, also known as Ohio Power, will continue to deliver electricity, read meters, and issue monthly bills. Residents will still call AEP Ohio for any service-related issues.

The program offers a fixed rate of 4.76 cents/kWh for electricity generation from March 2021 to March 2025, providing stability compared to the fluctuating rates of the local utility.

Residents who have already chosen a supplier and wish to join the program will need to contact Energy Harbor for enrollment information. They should be aware of any obligations in their current agreement, including early termination fees.

Opting out of the program means not participating in the City's electric Governmental Aggregation Program and not receiving the program rate. Those who do not return the opt-out form will be included in the program with the fixed rate offer.

Residents will continue to receive one bill from AEP Ohio that shows distribution charges and the supply charge from Energy Harbor. Distribution charges and a monthly customer charge apply regardless of the chosen supplier.

AEP Ohio will continue to offer programs such as budget billing and automatic payment deductions. Residents on budget billing for distribution charges will need to contact Energy Harbor to request budget billing for generation and transmission charges.

There is no penalty for exiting the program, and residents who move within the City can remain in the program by contacting Energy Harbor to re-enroll.

To be eligible for the program, residents must have AEP Ohio/Ohio Power as their local utility company, be located within the City limits, not be a PIPP customer, not be in arrears on bill payment, and not be a mercantile customer or a commercial customer with a peak demand over 199kW.

No signup is required for the program. Residents have 21 days to opt-out if they decide not to participate. An opt-out mailer will be sent by Energy Harbor, and those who wish to remain in the program can simply do nothing to be enrolled.

The City of Canton worked with Independent Energy Consultants, Inc., a certified broker and aggregator of electric and natural gas, to develop the program. The City's owned accounts are eligible to receive the program rate.

Small commercial accounts using less than 700,000 kWh/year and with a peak demand below 199kW are also eligible for the program.

The program does not affect distribution charges or the wires coming to residents' homes. Maintenance of the wires remains the responsibility of homeowners.

Residents can opt out over the phone before the opt-out deadline listed on their letters. For any questions, Energy Harbor can be reached at 866-636-3749.

For more information about electric deregulation and assistance programs, residents can visit the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's website at www.puco.ohio.gov.

To learn more, click on this link: https://www.cantonohio.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=97