FirstEnergy seeks more time to restore power after outages
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios
State regulators are considering whether to give FirstEnergy more leeway in how long it takes to restore power after outages.
Why it matters: For seniors and medically vulnerable residents, extended time without electricity can mean spoiled food and medicine, inoperable oxygen machines, stalled elevators and dangerous exposure to heat or cold.
Just this week, more than 16,000 customers in Parma lost power.
- City Hall went dark and the Justice Center suspended court proceedings for the day.
Driving the news: FirstEnergy wants the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to loosen reliability standards for the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. (CEI), Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison.
- CEI is seeking to extend its average restoration time from 135 minutes to 150 minutes.
Between the lines: Consumer advocates stress the proposed change would apply to the average response time, not single outages.
- That means a prolonged, multiday outage could be masked by shorter ones in the data.
What they're saying: FirstEnergy says worsening weather, aging infrastructure and downed trees have made current benchmarks harder to meet.
The other side: Cities including Cleveland and Lakewood have formally objected, arguing that ratepayers have already given FirstEnergy more than $1 billion for reliability improvements since 2017.
- Parma Councilwoman Deborah Lime noted this month that Parma has had numerous outages lasting longer than 48 hours in recent years.
- "The city has had to step in to assist vulnerable residents by conducting welfare checks and providing generators, placing an added burden on municipal services and resources," she said in a statement.
What's next: Evidentiary hearings were held last week and the matter remains before PUCO.