Expect to see an increase in energy prices this year.
AEP's Manager of Small Business Services, Rob Kulpa, told us that this year's increase will be a big one. "Almost an 800% increase year over year. Kind of surprised all of us. We weren't expecting it to be quite that high. What does that mean for you guys? It's about 2-4 cents per kilowatt hour on your electric bill. This is all throughout the PJM, which is the transmission operating company. It has nothing to do with any specific utility. It has nothing to do with the market. It is solely based off of the capacity part of the price." Kulpa explains capacity as the operating company making sure they have enough electricity to supply everyone in the market if they all turned on all their appliances at the same time. He says the amount of capacity is down because there is an increased demand for electricity while some generation plants have shut down due to age and they have not been replaced. He told us that gas prices will also be increasing about 16 cents per CCF this year. Kulpa told us if we want to shop around for better rates, we can log on PUCO's Apples to Apples website: https://energychoice.ohio.gov/applestoapples.aspx, but he cautions us that if we are offered a rate that is too good to be true, it probably is.
Also at Monday's meeting, Carol Buettner received her Paul Harris +3 pin, thanks in part to a donation of Paul Harris recognition points from former member Matt Otto. Thank you for your generosity!