The appeal relates to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) order in October 2007, which permits non-residential customers to avoid certain charges associated with the costs of Duke Energy Ohio being ready to serve them if they return after being served by another supplier.
Under Ohio’s customer choice law, customers have the right to return to Duke Energy, which has the obligation to serve them with no interruption.
In its notice, Duke Energy Ohio said that PUCO exceeded its authority in modifying the charges that may be avoided, resulting in the company having to subsidize Ohio’s competitive electric market.
The company asked the Supreme Court to reverse the PUCO ruling and require that non-residential customers pay the charges associated with being ready to serve them should they return from a competitive supplier.
