Athens City Council supports OCC

Athens City Council passed a resolution last night indicating its support for the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) while also pledging to urge the Ohio Legislature to restore funds to the counsel's budget in an effort to keep utility prices down.

The OCC's current operating budget rests at $8.5 million per year, but that budget is expected to be cut by more than half to $4.1 million under the proposed biennial budget.

Councilman Elahu Gosney stressed the importance of this resolution and the city’s support for the OCC.

“We can’t tell Columbus what to do, but we want them to know that we stand behind the OCC,” he said. “Utility companies can put an immense amount of pressure on state legislatures, and the OCC acts as a balance on behalf of the citizens.”

Gosney said that the proposed cut would not affect state budget woes because the OCC is funded by assessments on utilities and not taxes.

“The OCC is not funded by tax dollars, but by the utility bills themselves,” he said. “A portion of the bills each month funds it.”

The Ohio General Assembly created the OCC in 1976 to represent the interests of Ohio’s residential utility customers. The counsel acts as a buffer between citizens and utility companies in matters relating to their public utility services such as electric, natural gas, water, and telephone.

The OCC’s staff includes attorneys, accountants, economists, engineers, investigators, and other highly skilled professionals. This staff participates in legal proceedings, analyzes utility issues, educates customers, and resolves informal complaints relating to utility services.

Gosney said there is no doubt in his mind that it would be much easier for utility companies to raise rates if the OCC’s budget cut goes through.

“Rates will certainly go up for the people of Athens,” he said. “It won’t be immediate and the changes will occur over time. It’s impossible to say how much, but they would definitely go up because you would not have that balance.”

In the current biennium, the OCC has saved customers $54.8 million directly through its advocacy, and an additional $1.9 billion in shared savings with other partners. Since its inception, the counsel has saved utility customers $10 billion in avoided costs.

Still, however, the chances for success in restoring funding to the OCC’s budget remains up in the air.

“The OCC is funded separately from the state budget,” Gosney said. “There is not a strong push on cuts, but I also know how strong the utility companies are.”