Buying Electricity for Multiple Ohio Locations
Ohio market insight · Buying & contracts
Market-reference note: Numerical default-price examples below retain their cited 2026 reference period. They are historical class-level context, not a current account quote. Confirm the applicable business rate, components and effective dates on your bill before comparing an offer. How to establish your benchmark.
The short answer
Put every site into one inventory, sort it by who delivers the power, and buy the shoppable accounts together under one master agreement with a common end date. Price each utility territory separately within the same bid, because AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio and the three FirstEnergy utilities each have different delivery charges and default prices. Sites served by a municipal utility or electric cooperative can't choose a supplier, so they need a separate tariff review. Small sites that aren't under contract can be swept into a community's opt-out aggregation unless you plan for it.
This page covers portfolio strategy. For the document package behind the bid, see building an RFP data room. For the bid process itself, see the RFP process guide. For how each county's sites are split among utilities, see county pages such as Franklin, Cuyahoga and Hamilton.
Step 1: Sort sites by who serves them
| Provider | Can the site choose a supplier? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Investor-owned utility: AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio, Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison | Yes | Include it in the supplier bid, priced by territory |
| Municipal system: e.g., Hamilton, Westerville, Cuyahoga Falls, Bowling Green, Piqua, Wadsworth, Painesville, Dover, Niles, Galion, Cleveland Public Power, Columbus Division of Power | No | Review the rate schedule and demand with the municipal utility |
| Electric cooperative (co-op territory exists in 77 of 88 counties) | No | Same as municipal: a tariff and demand review, not a supplier bid |
Don't assume by city name. Parts of Cleveland are served by CEI and parts by Cleveland Public Power, and parts of Columbus are served by AEP Ohio and parts by the Columbus Division of Power. Check the bill for each site. See municipal and co-op areas.
Step 2: One master agreement, many site schedules
Portfolio buyers usually sign one master supply agreement that covers credit, billing, legal terms and dispute resolution. Each purchase then gets a short transaction confirmation listing the accounts, prices and term. The advantages:
- Legal and credit review happen once, not per site.
- Bandwidth can be measured across the whole portfolio instead of account by account, which absorbs one site's swings against another's.
- Adding sites follows a set process.
Negotiate these terms before the first purchase:
- Adding sites. New locations join at the contract price or by a stated formula tied to the market on the add date. Get the formula in writing.
- Closing or selling sites. Look for a defined material-change threshold and settlement method, not "sole discretion."
- Capacity treatment by site. Tags differ widely between locations, so state whether capacity is fixed or passed through for each.
- Billing. Choose utility consolidated billing (the supplier's charges appear on each utility bill) or supplier invoicing, and ask for a portfolio-level summary or data file each month.
Step 3: Co-term the portfolio
When sites end on different dates, you're always renewing something and never bidding the full load. Co-terming fixes that without paying termination fees:
- Pick a common end date, ideally a meter read just before a June 1.
- Sign forward-start confirmations now, so each site joins the master term when its current contract expires.
- Put new sites on the common end date from day one.
Illustrative schedule:
| Site | Current contract ends | Joins master term | Master term ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| A (AEP Ohio) | January 2027 read | February 2027 read | May 2029 read |
| B (Duke) | May 2027 read | June 2027 read | May 2029 read |
| C (Ohio Edison) | Already on default service | Next meter read | May 2029 read |
A May 2029 end date also keeps the whole term inside the period where PJM capacity prices are already known ($329.17, $333.44 and $325.00/MW-day for 2026/27 through 2028/29). Pay an early-termination fee only to co-term a site when the math works. See switching mid-contract.
Step 4: Price each territory separately
Energy and capacity costs, delivery charges and default prices all differ by utility. In 2024/25, for example, Duke's zone cleared at $96.24/MW-day against $28.92 for the rest of the region. Require bids broken out by utility territory, and by account for larger sites. You can still sign one master agreement, but you'll be able to see whether any territory is being cross-subsidized. You'll also be able to compare each territory against its own default price: for June 2026–May 2027, about 9.38¢ at Ohio Edison, 9.45¢ at CEI and 9.43¢ at Toledo Edison on the general-service schedule, and about 11.36¢ for Duke's Rate DM first block. AEP Ohio and AES Ohio show theirs by rate schedule on the bill.
Step 5: Plan around community aggregation
Opt-out governmental aggregation can pull your smaller sites into a program you didn't choose:
- A community's program can enroll accounts using up to 700,000 kWh a year that aren't under a supplier contract. You get a written notice and at least 21 days to opt out, and you can leave without penalty at least every three years.
- Mercantile accounts, those over 700,000 kWh a year, can join only by affirmatively opting in.
- Programs vary. NOPEC serves 240-plus northeast Ohio communities, with NextEra as supplier from June 2026 meter reads. Cincinnati's program is supplied by Dynegy through May 2029 and includes small commercial accounts under 700,000 kWh. Some programs are residential-only.
For a portfolio, the practical risk is a small site sitting between contracts when a program runs an enrollment sweep. If you want the site under your master agreement, get it enrolled with your supplier first, or opt out when the notice arrives. You can also use a program's price as one more benchmark for small sites. See aggregation for businesses.
Step 6: Run the portfolio
- One owner, one register, one calendar. Keep every account, tag and end date in the data room.
- Monthly. Check each bill for the right supplier and price. Portfolios hide small billing errors well.
- Every June 1. Capacity tags and default prices reset, so update the register and your budget.
- Before signing any new lease. Check who serves the address. A site in municipal or co-op territory changes your plan.
FAQ
Can one supplier serve all my Ohio locations?
Yes, for sites served by the six investor-owned utilities, as long as the supplier is certified for each territory. No supplier can serve sites in municipal or cooperative territory.
Do all my sites need the same contract end date?
Not at first. Forward-start confirmations let each site join a common term when its current contract ends, so the whole portfolio renews together afterward.
What happens to small sites in a community aggregation?
If a site uses up to 700,000 kWh a year and isn't under contract, a community's opt-out program can enroll it after sending a notice with at least 21 days to opt out. Opt out, or enroll the site with your own supplier first, if you want it in your portfolio contract.
Is one blended price better than separate prices by utility?
Separate prices by territory are easier to check. You can still sign a single master agreement, but you'll see exactly what each site pays and how it compares with that utility's default price.