Reps. Thomas, Rader to Introduce Legislation to Reimburse Families After Power Outages

State Representatives David Thomas (R–Jefferson) and Tristan Rader (D–Cleveland) today introduced the Ohio Power Outage Relief Act, bipartisan legislation requiring electric distribution utilities to compensate customers for qualifying prolonged and repeated power outages, and prohibiting utilities from passing those costs back to customers.

“When my cell phone service goes out, my provider offers a credit because they want to keep my business. They know I can take it somewhere else,” said Rep. D. Thomas. “Families don’t have that option with the electric company that owns the lines to their homes. When customers can’t walk away, we need meaningful accountability. This bill puts the responsibility on the utility to help make those families whole.”

“When the power goes out, the electric bill still comes. So does the cost of replacing a refrigerator full of groceries and lifesaving medication,” said Rep. Rader. “Families are paying for a service they depend on. When that service fails, they deserve more than an apology. They deserve their money back and help replacing what they lost.”

The proposal follows prolonged outages that have left Ohio families without refrigeration and other essential services, forcing households to absorb expenses they may not be able to afford.

Under the proposal:

• Automatic residential bill credits would equal $50 or the customer’s monthly utility charge, whichever is greater, once an outage qualifies. An additional credit of the same amount would apply for each additional 24 hours without service.
• Prolonged-outage protections would apply after 16 hours under normal conditions, 36 hours under the bill’s “gray-sky” conditions, or 72 hours under catastrophic conditions. Customers would also qualify after six sustained interruptions within 12 months.
• Food and medication reimbursement would cover self-certified, itemized losses up to $250 and documented losses up to $600. Documented losses of refrigerated prescription medication could be reimbursed above that limit.
• Utilities could not recover the cost of these credits or reimbursements from customers.

“This is a basic question of responsibility,” Thomas said. “If a business fails to deliver the service people pay for, the customer deserves a remedy. Being a monopoly shouldn’t give an electric utility a pass.”

“An apology won’t restock the fridge,” Rader said. “And reimbursement means nothing if the utility turns around and adds the cost to everyone’s electric bill. This legislation makes sure relief comes with real accountability.”

This bill awaits a number and committee assignment.