The First Energy companies that distribute electricity as Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric and Toledo Edison are asking state regulators to increase rates and restructure how customers are charged.
The three companies sell electricity to about half of Ohio's 88 counties.
The proposal would eliminate some of the charges tied to kilowatt per hour usage, but increase base rates for service and energy charges.
Most of the affected residential users could see increases in their bills of less than $1 to $5, if the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approves the application.
The company indicated in a call last month that it expects the increase to generate under $100 million, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Akron is home to FirstEnergy's headquarters.
It's unclear just how much bills could change because of another FirstEnergy case filed last year. In that case, the utility asked the PUCO to increase other charges. Opponents like the Ohio Consumers' Counsel say that would amount to a $1.4 billion rate hike.
The company has admitted two former executives, Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling, bribed state officials to get $1 billion in rate payer subsidies during the House Bill 6 scandal. They now face state corruption charges.
Jones, former FirstEnergy CEO, and Dowling, former FirstEnergy Services Corp. Senior Vice President, are charged with bribery and accused of paying former PUCO chair Sam Randazzo $4.3 million in 2019 to influence him. Jones and Dowling are also charged with money laundering, theft and telecommunications fraud.
Randazzo faced state and federal charges, but died last month from an apparent suicide.
FirstEnergy companies in other states, including West Virginia and Pennsylvania, are also asking customers for increases.
