Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Demand PUCO Enforce New Utility Reliability Rules Following HB 15 Taking Effect

COLUMBUS – A bipartisan group of Ohio House members today is calling on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to move quickly under the state’s new utility reliability law—working together to hold FirstEnergy accountable for years of chronic outages and to deliver long-overdue improvements using the new enforcement tools in House Bill (HB) 15, which takes effect this week.

The lawmakers sent a letter to PUCO urging immediate use of HB 15’s expanded oversight powers to address chronic service failures across Ohio, with a focus on Western Cuyahoga County communities that have endured repeated outages for years.

“HB 15 is about improving the reliability of our grid and lowering costs.  For the first time, HB 15 creates clear standards for power reliability and will end the outrageous power outages.  With these new tools, the PUCO can end the systemic neglect that has left too many Ohioans in the dark, literally,” said Rep. Chris Glassburn (D-North Olmsted), ranking member on the House Energy Committee. “Now it’s time to take action.”

House Bill 15 requires utilities to provide more detailed reliability data, including:

• Circuit-level outage reports and annual statewide reliability reports with modernization recommendations;
  
  • All outages are to be reported, with corrective action for areas experiencing five or more outages per year or outages with a duration of more than one hour.
• Public hosting capacity maps updated quarterly to make problem circuits visible to local officials and the public;
• Mandatory rate case reviews every three years to ensure utilities’ infrastructure investment plans are part of public proceedings; and
• Authority to order customer refunds when utilities charge for unlawful or inadequate service. 

“Eliminating the corruption funded bailouts was only part of what we accomplished in HB 15.  Ohio now has the standards to hold our utilities to account for poor service.  We are asking the PUCO to use those new tools now,” said Rep. Tristan Rader (D-Lakewood). “Dirty energy, dirty politics, and dirty customer services are about to get cleaned up.”  

The legislators’ letter cites PUCO’s own July 25, 2025, Letter of Probable Non-Compliance to FirstEnergy’s Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, which documented persistent equipment failures on some of CEI’s worst-performing circuits, aging infrastructure posing “significant risk” during severe weather, and inadequate communication with customers and local governments during outages.

The lawmakers are calling for the PUCO to:

• Direct CEI to submit a public, HB 15–compliant improvement plan with clear timelines, costs, and performance targets;
  Require quarterly public progress reports on these upgrades; and
• Use HB 15’s new enforcement powers to ensure improvements are made quickly and without diverting resources from outage-prone communities.

“House Bill 15 represents an important step toward expanding the development of new energy resources to strengthen Ohio’s grid. As we move forward, it is essential that the power generated is delivered to customers in a safe, reliable, and efficient manner,” said Rep. Mike Dovilla (R-Berea).

The lawmakers say they are ready to work with PUCO on further legislative action to strengthen utility oversight and ensure reliable service for all Ohioans.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A copy of the letter signed by Reps. Glassburn, Dovilla, Rader, as well as by Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) and Rep. Sean Patrick Brennan (D-Parma) is attached to this release.