A Columbus-based grassroots activist group is rallying large crowds to oppose a rate hike for American Electric Power of Ohio as utility rates balloon in the fast-growing city.
Columbus Stand Up, co-founded by former U.S. Senate and U.S. House candidate Morgan Harper, has been organizing since late 2022 around voting and civic engagement. More recently they've organized a campaign called "Light Out AEP" with a petition and turnout effort around the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio public hearings about AEP's proposed revenue increase.
AEP Ohio is seeking approval for a $400 million revenue increase from a 2% increase in distribution rates. This would increase an average residential customer's bill by about $4 a month. AEP said in a statement this will cover the costs of equipment like power poles, lines and transformers, and pay the salaries of the line workers who restore power after storms and other outages and of those people who manage the electric grid to keep the lights on.
This increase would be on top of recently approved utility rate increases by Columbus Water and Power and Columbia Gas. This means if it is approved, most Columbus residents will see higher costs for all three major utilities.
Five public hearings took place and more evidentiary hearings with arguments from AEP and other interested parties like the Ohio Consumer's Council are set for next year before a vote takes place.
Usually, PUCO hearings are populated by utility policy experts who know the jargon and the ins-and-outs of the utility regulation world. In the past two weeks, dozens of everyday Ohio residents and AEP customers have shown up to voice their opposition to this proposal in Columbus, Findlay, Zanesville and Marietta.
Columbus Stand Up co-founder Kwesi Low has been part of this effort with Harper. He spoke at the final public hearing in the PUCO's main office in downtown Columbus early Tuesday afternoon.
Low said opposing the increase is about more than a line item on a utility bill for working families. He said this turnout didn't surprise him.
"This is kind of a tipping point it feels like. This is like a last straw kind of thing and people are showing up," Low said. "I expect people to continue to show up and I see this really as the beginning of something that's gonna really grow in momentum."
Previously, Columbus Stand Up organized voter turnout efforts around the Columbus City Council District 7 and Columbus City School Board elections this year and the Franklin County Prosecutor's race last year. The group hosted candidate forums for both municipal races this year before the primary and before the general election.
Low said organizing helps push back against corporations, which have an outsized influence in government. He said Columbus Stand Up has gathered more than 1,800 signatures against the AEP rate hike so far.
"What's that old saying? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. So the only way to not have absolute power is to have the people that are under that power to empower themselves, to organize, to build community," Low said.
Low primarily linked his argument to working families in his testimony. He pointed out many of the working class families who are most impacted weren't able to attend the Tuesday hearing.
"The people who will suffer the most from this rate increase are not in this room. They do not know that this process exists. They do not have the time, the energy or the mental space to search for regulatory hearings. They're buried in survival, working two jobs, trying to keep the lights on, trying to keep food on the table, and because of that, they are the easiest people to extract from," Low said.
He pointed out 18% of Columbus residents live below the poverty line and AEP's rates will take food off the plates of people who are already struggling.
Low said his groups efforts aren't over concerning this issue. The rate hike could come up for a vote next year.
