December 11, 2025
Utilities are trying to hurt Solar in Ohio. Help us stop them!
On Thanksgiving, Ohio received an unwelcome addition to the standard holiday traditions of turkey, football, and time spent with loved ones: a last-minute utility push to weaken the law and undercut Ohio’s solar market.
What is going on?
Ohio law requires the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to periodically review all of its rules. Right now, the PUCO is reviewing its net metering rules—the rules that ensure Ohioans with solar on their property are fairly credited on their electric bills for the benefits they bring to the grid. A day before the deadline, AEP Ohio, one of Ohio’s Electric Distribution Utilities, asked the PUCO to drastically restrict the compensation for solar.
What Did AEP Ask For?
AEP Ohio is recommending policies the OEC strongly disagrees with. They are proposing the following:
1. Restrict net metering only to Standard Service Offer customers
This would mean customers participating in community choice aggregation or who shop in the energy marketplace would need to buy their energy instead from a company chosen by their Electric Distribution Utility (AEP Ohio, First Energy, Duke Energy Ohio, or AES Ohio) in order to be compensated for their solar. The purchase of this energy, known as the Standard Service Offer, benefits EDUs, and the energy usually has a much higher mix of fossil fuel sources than the energy provided by community choice aggregation programs and options available in the competitive market.
2. Restrict the compensation solar owners get for the benefits they provide the grid.
AEP Ohio wants to replace true net metering with net billing, requiring solar homes to pay distribution on all kilowatt-hours (kWh) delivered. Requiring customers to pay distribution fees directly disregards the significant benefits solar brings to the distribution grid. Rooftop solar provides power during peak demand, reducing costs and strain on the grid.
3. Slash bill credits + increase costs for rooftop solar owners
Reducing credits at a time of soaring energy costs is, simply, a proposed profit grab by the utility. AEP wants to pay customers less for managing their own electricity production—punishing customers who choose to put solar on their roof to increase the utility’s bottom line.
The Good News: No one else wants this!
The PUCO Staff and all other parties have recommended no changes to the rules, but AEP Ohio’s filing puts consumer protections and affordability at risk if left unopposed. No other parties involved in this rule review have proposed changes, and more than 200 individuals have submitted comments that appear to overwhelmingly support retaining net metering in its current form.
What Can You Do?
Join the over 200 Ohioans speaking out to protect solar in Ohio by filing a public comment at the PUCO’s website by December 12th! Click “File a Public Comment” and tell the PUCO to protect Net Metering, ensuring Ohioans can continue choosing to save money by pursuing solar on their own property!
Some suggested language: “I am writing as an Ohioan to urge the PUCO to follow staff’s recommendations and maintain Ohio’s current net metering rules. Ohio families should continue to receive fair credit for the clean energy they choose to share with the grid.”
