Cuyahoga County School Electricity: Multi-Site Guide
Schools & Universities · Cuyahoga County, Ohio
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.
Can several schools and universities in Cuyahoga County share one electricity contract?
Yes, with one caveat: Cuyahoga County is served by two investor-owned utilities (The Illuminating Company and Ohio Edison), and suppliers price each utility territory separately. A single master agreement can still cover every site, with a price column per utility.
Leave out any location served by a municipal electric system — in Cuyahoga County that includes Cleveland (Cleveland Public Power) — because those meters generally can't be enrolled with a retail supplier.
Portfolio math for schools and universities in Cuyahoga County
Take an illustrative operator with three smaller and two mid-size locations (60,000 ft² and 150,000 ft²):
| Portfolio measure | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Combined annual use | 4.51 million kWh |
| Combined capacity tags | about 883 kW |
| Capacity cost at 2026/27 price ($329.17/MW-day) | about $106,087 a year |
| Illustrative tags at the 2024/25 RTO reference ($28.92/MW-day) | about $9,321 a year |
| Value of each 0.5¢/kWh in supply price | about $22,560 a year |
How these numbers are built: annual use = 9.4 kWh/ft² (EIA CBECS 2018 Table C14, education (mean; median 9.6)). Peak demand assumes a 35% load factor; the capacity tag assumes 60% of that peak falls in the grid's summer peak hours. Capacity cost uses PJM's 2026/27 clearing price of $329.17/MW-day (about $120 per kW-year) before utility scaling factors. These are illustrations for sizing a decision — your own bills and interval data are what suppliers price.
At that combined size the operator is a meaningful account for suppliers, even if each location on its own is below Ohio's 700,000 kWh-a-year “mercantile” line. Each account's aggregation eligibility is still judged site by site.
Utilities and default prices across Cuyahoga County
| Utility | Small-business default generation price | Cities on this site in the county |
|---|---|---|
| The Illuminating Company | Historical class reference: 9.45¢/kWh (June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027, annual average) | Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Garfield Heights, Lakewood, Maple Heights, North Olmsted, North Royalton, Parma, Shaker Heights, Solon, Strongsville, Westlake |
| Ohio Edison | Historical class reference: 9.38¢/kWh (June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027, annual average) | — |
Structuring a multi-site contract
- Master agreement with site schedules. Sign one agreement and list each location on a schedule, so opening or closing a school is an amendment, not a new negotiation.
- Add/delete rights. Ask for the right to add new locations at the contract price (or a formula) and to remove closed locations without penalty up to a set share of volume.
- Aggregate bandwidth. Measure usage tolerance across the whole portfolio rather than meter by meter, so one busy site doesn't trigger true-up charges.
- Co-terminous end dates. Put every site on the same end date so the next bid covers the full portfolio.
- Aggregation exits. Locations at 700,000 kWh a year or less may be in a community aggregation program; confirm how each will be moved to the new supplier and whether any exit terms apply.
Operating issues specific to schools and universities
K-12 buildings run a median 45 hours a week and colleges 60. The summer break lowers use for K-12, but summer programs and newly air-conditioned buildings have raised July and August peaks.
Across a portfolio, the biggest wins usually come from standardizing settings and comparing sites against each other. For schools and universities, that means:
- Set summer HVAC schedules building by building instead of campus-wide.
- Retro-commission ventilation controls in gyms and auditoriums, which are often left on.
- Move to LED with occupancy sensors in classrooms and corridors.
Confirm board approval timelines before requesting prices — supplier quotes typically expire within a day or two.
FAQ
Can a school operator buy electricity for all Cuyahoga County locations together?
Yes. A supplier can put every shoppable site under one agreement; expect separate prices for The Illuminating Company and Ohio Edison accounts.
Which Cuyahoga County locations can't be included?
Sites served by municipal systems in Cleveland (Cleveland Public Power) generally can't be enrolled with a retail supplier.
When should a school sign a contract?
Early enough that the board can approve the award before quotes expire; many districts pre-approve a price ceiling.
Related: Schools & universities in Ohio · Cuyahoga County utilities · single-site school costs in Cleveland
Decision worksheet: Cuyahoga County school operations
Separate city systems from competitive-service sites
A Cleveland-area portfolio may include municipal accounts alongside investor-owned utility accounts. Mark every non-shoppable location explicitly. The operating review can include all sites even when the supplier bid cannot.
For a school in this market, the useful starting evidence is term-time operation separately from holidays and summer use. This is a review question, not an assumption that every local facility has the same equipment or schedule. Record what your site actually does, then explain the difference between the historical bill period and the proposed contract term.
| Delivery-utility guide for Cuyahoga County | Evidence needed before pricing |
|---|---|
| The Illuminating Company | Confirm the actual account class and contract; service territory is not the same as a county boundary. |
| Ohio Edison | Confirm the actual account class and contract; service territory is not the same as a county boundary. |
The local guide is a starting map, not an address-level enrollment determination. Keep utility bills and account identifiers in the private document package, not the initial website inquiry. The Ohio bill guide explains how to identify the delivery and supply companies.
A school review should test these operating questions
- Load separation: identify academic schedules, ventilation and campus support loads. Distinguish electricity use from gas, water and other operating costs before comparing a retail electric offer.
- Change case: document a new laboratory, sports facility or summer-program schedule. Ask the supplier whether that change affects quoted volume, capacity treatment, demand assumptions or the offer’s validity.
- Comparable performance: track kWh per teaching day plus a separate holiday baseline. A raw dollar-per-month comparison mixes prices and operations; a unit measure needs the operating context beside it.
- Account responsibility: Do laboratories and catering loads continue during vacations? Record the responsible party and who can authorize a contract before asking someone to sign.
- Contract fit: Which entity has authority to commit each campus meter? Ask for the answer in the actual agreement or written offer schedule, rather than relying on a sales summary.
Evidence table for the next decision
| Question for this school | Bring this evidence | What a useful answer looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Has the bill risen because of price or operations? | Same-period kWh, peak kW where billed, hours and production/occupancy records | A separation of rate, volume and demand effects; no automatic savings claim |
| Will the next term resemble the last twelve months? | The planned a new laboratory, sports facility or summer-program schedule | A base case and a change case, with supplier tolerances shown |
| Are supply offers priced on equal terms? | Start dates, included components, additional fees and offer expiry | One comparison matrix that identifies every excluded or adjustable item |
| Is the site free to enroll when proposed? | Current agreement, renewal notice and actual utility confirmation | A documented timeline that avoids an unintended rollover or early-exit charge |
Portfolio review across Cuyahoga County
Use a separate row for every property rather than one total for the whole business. Start with Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Garfield Heights, Lakewood, Maple Heights, North Olmsted, North Royalton. A common owner can negotiate a master agreement, but meters still have their own rate classes, delivery utilities, start dates and operational constraints. Do not assume that pooling bills creates a volume discount or makes a municipal meter eligible.
For schools and universities, preserve kWh per teaching day plus a separate holiday baseline at site level before rolling it into a portfolio dashboard. Otherwise a busy or continuously operating location can hide the cost of an idle one. Align contract end dates only after identifying any early-exit costs, add/delete rights and ownership-transfer provisions.
Turn this into a review request
Use the private comparison and renewal tools for a first pass. They do not submit your figures. If you want help, choose “Offer comparison” or “Renewal planner” on the Ohio inquiry form, identify Cuyahoga County, and describe the question without account numbers or attachments. A supplier bid follows only if the account and decision support that step.
Primary reference points: PUCO electric-bill definitions, Ohio customer classifications and customer-choice guidance. Operating prompts above are planning guidance, not measured local savings or a claim about a specific customer.