The Illuminating Company Business Electricity Rates & Choice
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 Illuminating Company at a glance
The Illuminating Company — the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, or CEI — is the FirstEnergy utility for Greater Cleveland, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties. Businesses on CEI can buy generation from a certified supplier. Inside Cleveland, some blocks are served by Cleveland Public Power instead, and those accounts cannot shop.
| Legal name | The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI) |
| Parent company | FirstEnergy |
| Territory | Greater Cleveland and far northeast Ohio — Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties plus parts of neighboring counties |
| PJM capacity zone | ATSI |
| Business rate schedules | GS (general service, secondary) for most businesses, GP (primary) and GT (transmission) for larger users |
| Small-business default generation price | Historical class reference: 9.45¢/kWh on the GS rate, June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027, annual average (prior year 8.88¢) |
| Residential price to compare (reference) | 11.16¢/kWh, July 1 – Sept 30, 2026 |
| Can businesses choose a supplier? | Yes — generation only; The Illuminating Company keeps delivery |
What The Illuminating Company charges vs. what you can shop
Every The Illuminating Company bill has two halves. Delivery — distribution, transmission and most riders — is set by PUCO-approved tariffs and stays the same no matter who supplies your power. Generation is the part you can buy from a PUCO-certified supplier. If you don't choose one, you pay The Illuminating Company's default (Standard Service Offer) price, which PUCO calls the price to compare.
The Illuminating Company (CEI) bill shows a "Price to Compare" on the generation section. For businesses on the GS rate, CEI's default generation price averaged about 9.45¢/kWh for June 2026–May 2027.
How The Illuminating Company's default price is set
The Illuminating Company doesn't generate the power in its default price; it buys it through competitive auctions and passes the result through. Ohio's HB 15 (effective August 14, 2025) repealed electric security plans, so default prices must now come from competitive bidding. The price typically resets each June 1 as new auction tranches start, which is why comparing a supplier offer to last year's bill can mislead.
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.
Capacity costs in the ATSI zone
Capacity — paying generators to be available at peak — is part of every generation price in Ohio. PJM's auctions have reset it sharply:
| Delivery year (June–May) | PJM capacity price | Per kW of capacity tag, per year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | $28.92/MW-day | about $11 | Duke's DEOK zone cleared higher at $96.24 |
| 2025/26 | $269.92/MW-day | about $99 | |
| 2026/27 | $329.17/MW-day | about $120 | cleared at the price cap |
| 2027/28 | $333.44/MW-day | about $122 | cleared at the cap; 6,623 MW short of the reliability requirement |
| 2028/29 | $325.00/MW-day | about $119 | cleared at the cap; 6,831 MW short of the reliability requirement |
Your capacity tag is set from your load during the grid's highest summer peak hours the previous year. Cutting load during PJM peak alerts lowers next year's tag — at 2026/27 prices each kilowatt removed is worth roughly $120 a year. See capacity tags explained.
The Illuminating Company rate-case and policy 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.
- Parts of Cleveland are served by Cleveland Public Power (CPP), the city-owned utility with about 74,000 customers; CPP accounts cannot choose a supplier. Check the utility name on each Cleveland bill.
- Painesville runs its own municipal electric system inside CEI's region.
- CEI's delivery revenue rose under the February 2026 rehearing order even as Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison fell.
Counties The Illuminating Company serves
The Illuminating Company is the main investor-owned utility in 4 counties and serves part of 4 more:
Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Portage, Summit, Trumbull
* part of the county; another utility serves the larger share.
Cities on The Illuminating Company
Ashtabula, Avon, Avon Lake, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Garfield Heights, Lakewood, Maple Heights, Mentor, North Olmsted, North Royalton, Parma, Shaker Heights, Solon, Strongsville, Westlake, Willoughby
Inside The Illuminating Company's region, these cities run their own municipal electric systems, so businesses there generally cannot choose a supplier: Painesville (Painesville Municipal Electric). See municipal and co-op areas.
Community aggregation in The Illuminating Company territory
In governmental (opt-out) aggregation, a city, township or county picks a supplier for its residents and small businesses. Small commercial accounts (700,000 kWh a year or less) that haven't chosen a supplier are enrolled automatically unless they opt out; accounts already under a supplier contract are excluded, and mercantile accounts join only if they opt in. See governmental aggregation for Ohio businesses.
- NOPEC — 240+ member communities, mostly in Northeast Ohio; NextEra Energy Services became the supplier starting with June 2026 meter reads (three-year term).
Switching suppliers on The Illuminating Company
- Confirm the account is on The Illuminating Company (not a municipal system or co-op) and find any current supplier contract end date.
- Collect 12 months of usage (interval data for larger sites) and request prices that state capacity and broker fees separately.
- Sign with the supplier; the supplier submits your enrollment. CEI switches your supply on a scheduled meter-read date after enrollment is accepted — typically one to two billing cycles.
- The Illuminating Company mails a confirmation letter. Residential and small commercial customers have 7 days from its postmark to cancel.
- Check the first bill: the supplier's price should appear in the generation section and delivery charges should be unchanged.
FAQ
Is The Illuminating Company a supplier or a utility?
The Illuminating Company is the distribution utility. It delivers power and offers a default generation price, but businesses can buy generation from a competing supplier instead.
What is The Illuminating Company's price to compare for businesses?
For the GS rate it averages about 9.45¢/kWh for June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027, annual average. Your bill shows the figure for your own rate schedule.
Will switching suppliers change The Illuminating Company outage service?
No. The Illuminating Company still maintains the wires and restores outages; only the generation charge changes.
Why did The Illuminating Company bills rise in 2025–2026?
Mostly because PJM capacity prices rose from $28.92/MW-day (2024/25) to $329.17 (2026/27) and flowed into generation prices; delivery-rate changes from recent rate cases were smaller.