Cleveland Business Electricity: Illuminating Co. Rates

Electric utility: The Illuminating Company · Cuyahoga County

Updated October 15, 2026Ohio Commercial Energy editorial teamHow we review content Book a free 15-min bill review

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.

Who supplies electricity to businesses in Cleveland?

Most businesses in Cleveland (Cuyahoga County) are served by The Illuminating Company, a FirstEnergy company. Because Cleveland is in The Illuminating Company's territory, a business can buy the generation part of its electricity from any supplier certified by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), while The Illuminating Company keeps delivering the power, reading the meter and restoring outages.

Cleveland Public Power (CPP), the city-owned utility, serves roughly 74,000 homes and businesses in parts of Cleveland block by block; CPP accounts cannot choose a competitive supplier. The Illuminating Company serves the rest of the city.

Cleveland at a glance
Population (2020 Census)	372,624
County	Cuyahoga County (county seat: Cleveland)
Electric utility (delivery)	The Illuminating Company
Can businesses choose a supplier?	Yes, for accounts on The Illuminating Company (not Cleveland Public Power accounts)
Default generation price, small business	Historical class reference: 9.45¢/kWh on the GS rate (June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027, annual average)
Community aggregation	SOPEC (member community)
Grid operator / capacity zone	PJM Interconnection, ATSI zone
Capacity price, June 2026–May 2027	$329.17/MW-day (up from $28.92 in 2024/25)

Cleveland's business base

Cleveland had 372,624 residents in the 2020 Census and the county seat. Cuyahoga County seat; healthcare, higher education, manufacturing and financial services. Large employers and institutions include Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals Health System, Case Western Reserve University, and Sherwin-Williams Co. Hospitals, campuses and plants tend to buy through structured bids with interval data, while offices, shops and restaurants usually fall under Ohio's 700,000 kWh-a-year “mercantile” line and buy standard small-business products.

The price to beat on The Illuminating Company

The Illuminating Company's default generation price for small businesses on the GS rate is about 9.45¢/kWh (June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027, annual average), up from about 8.88¢ the year before.

That default — PUCO calls it the price to compare — is what a Cleveland business pays for generation if it never signs with a supplier. A supplier offer only helps if its all-in generation price, including capacity and any broker fee, beats it on your usage. Statewide, EIA data show the average all-in commercial price rose to about 13.78¢/kWh in the first half of 2026 from 11.07¢ a year earlier, mostly because PJM capacity prices jumped from $28.92 to $329.17 per MW-day.

The delivery utility remains responsible for the wires. Tariff charges can change over time; confirm which transmission and other components are included in a supply offer. The Illuminating Company's latest rate-case status: PUCO's November 19, 2025 order cut the Ohio Edison / Illuminating Company / Toledo Edison request of about $190 million to about $34 million; a February 18, 2026 rehearing order stretched storm-cost recovery to 25 years, producing a net annual reduction of about $39.4 million effective March 1, 2026 (CEI rose, Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison fell). The companies filed their first three-year rate plan for 2027–2029 in May 2026.

Because Cleveland Public Power and CEI serve the city block by block, a multi-site owner needs to sort Cleveland meters by utility before asking for prices — suppliers can only enroll the CEI accounts.

For CEI accounts on the GS rate, the default generation price averaged about 9.45¢/kWh for June 2026–May 2027 — the highest of the three FirstEnergy utilities.

Is Cleveland in a community aggregation program?

Cleveland is listed as a member community of SOPEC, a council of governments whose electric aggregation covers eligible residential and small commercial accounts, with AEP Energy as the generation supplier. Community-specific rates are posted on SOPEC's site.

Opt-out aggregation automatically enrolls small accounts (700,000 kWh a year or less) that haven't chosen a supplier; accounts already under contract are excluded and larger “mercantile” accounts join only if they opt in. If your Cleveland bill names an aggregation supplier you never picked, that is why. You can leave for a commercial offer priced on your own usage — compare the aggregation price with it first. How aggregation interacts with a business contract is covered in governmental aggregation for Ohio businesses.

Cleveland's neighbors and multi-site buying

If you run locations in more than one town, price them by utility. The nearest cities covered on this site:

City	Distance	Electric utility
Garfield Heights	6 miles	The Illuminating Company
Cleveland Heights	6 miles	The Illuminating Company
Lakewood	6 miles	The Illuminating Company
Parma	7 miles	The Illuminating Company
Shaker Heights	7 miles	The Illuminating Company

All five are The Illuminating Company territory, so one supplier price usually covers a portfolio across them.

Industry cost guides for Cleveland

Switching suppliers in Cleveland

Send 12 months of The Illuminating Company bills (interval data for larger sites), the account numbers and the legal name on the account, plus any current supplier's end date. Ask every bidder to show capacity and broker compensation as separate lines (how broker fees work), and compare each offer with The Illuminating Company's default price on the same usage. CEI switches your supply on a scheduled meter-read date after enrollment is accepted — typically one to two billing cycles. Step-by-step detail is in our Illuminating Company guide.

FAQ: business electricity in Cleveland

What electric company serves businesses in Cleveland, Ohio?

The Illuminating Company delivers electricity to most businesses in Cleveland. Cleveland Public Power (CPP), the city-owned utility, serves roughly 74,000 homes and businesses in parts of Cleveland block by block; CPP accounts cannot choose a competitive supplier. The Illuminating Company serves the rest of the city.

Can a business in Cleveland choose its electricity supplier?

Yes. Businesses on The Illuminating Company can buy generation from any PUCO-certified supplier; The Illuminating Company keeps delivering power and restoring outages.

What is the price to compare for Cleveland businesses?

For small businesses on The Illuminating Company's GS rate it is about 9.45¢/kWh (June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027, annual average). Larger accounts on primary-voltage rates see different figures; your bill shows yours.

Is there electric aggregation for businesses in Cleveland?

Cleveland is listed as a member community of SOPEC, a council of governments whose electric aggregation covers eligible residential and small commercial accounts, with AEP Energy as the generation supplier. Small accounts that never chose a supplier may be enrolled automatically and can opt out.

How long does it take to switch suppliers in Cleveland?

CEI switches your supply on a scheduled meter-read date after enrollment is accepted — typically one to two billing cycles. Small commercial customers then have 7 days from the utility's confirmation letter to cancel.

Decision worksheet: a business site in Cleveland

Resolve the account before the price

This city includes municipal and investor-owned service. Record the utility for every meter before describing the whole property or portfolio as shoppable. Start with the delivery company, legal customer and service address; a city name cannot establish those details.

The useful county-level comparison is Cuyahoga County. Other city guides from that county include Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Garfield Heights, Lakewood, Maple Heights. Those links describe related service-area questions, not a promise that every address shares one provider.

Three different decisions can sit behind one bill question

Your Cleveland situation	First document to check	Appropriate next step
Existing supplier agreement is ending	Signed renewal/termination clause and last complete bill	Use the renewal planner, then confirm the actual contractual notice dates
Building operation or ownership is changing	Lease/ownership responsibility and the expected load change	Ask about assignment, add/delete rights and volume tolerances before quoting
Bill is higher but operations look unchanged	Comparable kWh, demand and charge components for the same period	Separate price, usage and demand effects rather than assuming a supply switch fixes everything

For this local review, the The Illuminating Company guide explains the supply-versus-delivery distinction. Keep tax, banking and account identifiers out of the first inquiry. A discussion can establish whether any private document exchange is needed.

Reference: PUCO choice and bill definitions. This decision worksheet adds account-level checks; it is not a new address-level territory survey.