Ohio Apples to Apples Electric Rates: How to Compare Plans
If you live in Ohio and your electric bill lists both a utility name and a separate supplier line—or if you have ever been told you can "shop" for power—you are in one of the country's largest retail electricity markets. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) maintains an official comparison tool widely known as Apples to Apples, hosted on the commission's Energy Choice Ohio website. PUCO directs customers who want to compare supplier rate offers to that site (¹).
This guide is for Ohio residents and small-business owners who are shopping, switching, renewing, or wondering whether a postcard rate beats staying put. It explains what Apples to Apples actually compares, how the price to compare works, and how to turn headline cent-per-kilowatt-hour rates into a decision you can defend on paper. Readers in regulated states—or in Texas, where Power to Choose plays a similar role—will recognize the pattern: delivery stays regulated; supply can be competitive.
What Apples to Apples is—and what it is not
Apples to Apples is PUCO's comparison tool that lists rates offered by competitive retail electric service (CRES) suppliers (²). It sits alongside the commission's broader Energy Choice Ohio resources, which PUCO has cited when encouraging customers to compare offers ahead of default-rate changes (¹).
What the tool does well:
- Collects licensed supplier offers in one place so you are not chasing dozens of websites.
- Lets you sort and filter by price, contract length, renewable content, and other fields the commission requires suppliers to disclose.
- Pairs naturally with the price to compare (PTC) printed on your utility bill—the benchmark for whether a supplier beats default generation service.
What it does not do:
- Replace your electric distribution utility (EDU). Poles, wires, outage response, and metering stay with the utility that serves your address.
- Quote a single "Ohio electric rate." Delivery charges, riders, and taxes still apply no matter who sells you generation.
- Guarantee savings. A lower supply rate only helps if it beats your PTC for your usage pattern after fees.
Ohio law now requires suppliers to point customers back to Apples to Apples when fixed introductory rates expire and when annual variable-rate notices go out (²; ³). That is a signal regulators treat the tool as the standard shopping path—not a marketing sidebar.
Ohio's split bill: delivery vs. supply
Ohio restructured electricity so customers can choose who generates (or procures) their power while the local utility continues to deliver it. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) describes the model plainly: in some states you may buy electricity from a power marketer, and the local utility still delivers it (⁴). The Department of Energy notes that certain states restructured their industry to allow competition among electricity suppliers, similar to how long-distance phone service opened up (⁵).
On a typical Ohio bill you will see:
- Delivery/distribution — regulated charges from your EDU (for example AEP Ohio, FirstEnergy Ohio utilities such as Toledo Edison or Ohio Edison, Duke Energy Ohio, or AES Ohio depending on territory).
- Generation/supply — either the utility's standard service offer (SSO) default product, or charges from a CRES supplier you selected.
Ohio's 2024 data show how large competitive supply already is. Total retail sales were about 153.7 million MWh, with roughly 115.5 million MWh sold by energy-only providers (competitive supply with separate delivery) versus 38.2 million MWh from full-service providers (⁶). Most Ohio load already flows through the competitive supply channel—even if your kitchen light switch feels unchanged.
SSO, PTC, and why the names matter
Standard service offer (SSO) is the utility's default generation product, procured under PUCO oversight. If you never choose a supplier, you are on SSO.
The price to compare is the SSO rate expressed in a way that lets you test supplier offers. PUCO explains that the PTC represents the amount per kilowatt-hour you would no longer pay the utility for generation when you enroll with a retail supplier; that utility supply charge is replaced by the supplier's rate (¹).
House Bill 15, signed in 2025, reshaped how SSO is set—moving away from electric security plans toward a statutorily defined market rate offer—but Ohio utilities had already relied on competitive auctions for default service for roughly a decade (³). For shoppers, the practical question remains the same: Does this supplier beat my PTC on an all-in supply basis?
Start on your bill, not on a flyer
Before you open any comparison site, pull your latest utility bill and find two numbers:
- Price to compare (often labeled for generation and transmission).
- kWh used in the billing period.
FirstEnergy Ohio's proposed bill formats illustrate how utilities explain the test. A shopping customer's bill may state that to save money off utility supply charges, a supplier must offer a price lower than the utility's price in cents per kWh for the same usage on the bill, and direct customers to PUCO's Energy Choice Ohio website to review offers (⁷). Revised formats also list the PTC on page one—for example, illustrative bill language showing a residential price to compare of 6.79 cents per kWh—with fuller guidance on page two (⁷).
AEP Ohio has pushed similar transparency, adding a first-page message showing what supply would have cost at the current SSO/PTC rate so shopping customers can compare against supplier charges on the same bill (⁸). AEP noted that message also references PUCO's Apples-to-Apples website and instructions on how to use the PTC (⁸).
That is the core Apples to Apples discipline: supplier rate below PTC for the supply portion, holding usage equal—before you count delivery.
Using Apples to Apples: a practical walkthrough
PUCO tells customers interested in choosing a supplier to compare rate offers through the commission's Energy Choice Ohio website (¹). Trade press and regulatory filings refer to the rate-comparison portion as Apples to Apples (²).
Work through the tool in this order:
1. Confirm territory
Supplier offers are utility-specific. A winning rate in AEP Ohio territory may not exist for a Cleveland-area FirstEnergy address. Enter the service ZIP tied to the meter, not a mailing address you use for other mail.
2. Pick customer class
Residential and small commercial customers see different PTCs and offer sets. PUCO's posted PTC tables for residential customers assume 1,000 kWh per month; customers on special heating rates or nonresidential accounts may see a different benchmark (¹).
3. Filter, then read contracts
Sort by rate, but do not enroll from the sort column alone. Open each finalist's contract terms: fixed vs. variable, term length, early termination fees, renewable content, and whether the rate is introductory.
Ohio's 2025–2026 rules require suppliers offering introductory fixed rates that convert to variable to send two expiration notices (90–60 days and 45–15 days before expiration) plus annual notices if you remain on variable pricing. Those notices must include the commission website that lists CRES rates and, for electricity, a statement that your bill carries a price-to-compare notice for the SSO (²; ³).
4. Model dollars, not just cents
Multiply candidate supply rates by your monthly kWh. Add any monthly customer charges or recurring fees in the supplier contract.
AEP Ohio told regulators why that step matters: with consolidated billing, utilities cannot always translate supplier charges into a single effective commodity ¢/kWh because some suppliers stack fixed monthly charges and non-commodity fees (⁸). If the billing agent struggles to compute an effective rate, you probably will too—unless you do the arithmetic upfront.
5. Compare to PTC and to "do nothing"
If modeled supply cost at your usage is above the PTC, default SSO is the rational choice unless you are paying for a green product feature you value. PUCO Chair Jenifer French has framed the market as available to "shop around," with consumers urged to ask the right questions before assuming savings (¹).
The 1,000 kWh benchmark—and when to ignore it
PUCO's residential PTC postings assume 1,000 kWh per month (¹). That is a regulatory convenience, not a prediction of your house.
Use 1,000 kWh when:
- You lack a full year of bills and need a neutral anchor.
- You are comparing two supplier offers on the same footing.
Re-run the math at 70% and 130% of your actual average kWh if your usage swings seasonally. Fixed monthly fees hit low-use months harder; summer AC can change whether a tiered offer wins.
For statewide context—not a substitute for your bill—EIA's April 2026 state tables show Ohio residential sales averaging 19.49¢/kWh and commercial 18.18¢/kWh (⁹; ¹⁰). Ohio's 2024 all-sectors average retail price was 11.29¢/kWh, reflecting industrial load pulling statewide averages down (⁶).
Fixed, variable, and green offers
Fixed-rate contracts lock the supply price for the stated term; you trade flexibility for predictability.
Variable-rate contracts move with market indices or supplier discretion after any intro period—fine when markets fall, painful when they spike.
Renewable or "green" products may cost more. The Department of Energy explains that in restructured states, specialized generators market renewable products to consumers willing to pay a small premium reflecting environmental values (⁵).
Ohio's notice rules explicitly target customers rolled from introductory fixed to variable rates—precisely the moment many households stop paying attention. If you receive a 60–90-day expiration notice, that is your cue to revisit Apples to Apples before the contract flips (²).
Switching mechanics, fees, and enrollment
Choosing a supplier authorizes a billing switch, not a new wire connection. PUCO now requires identity verification at enrollment, with the customer's signature acknowledging verification, using account information, government ID, or another approved method (¹¹). HB 15 also allows enroll-by-wallet paths where customers may provide government ID instead of reciting account numbers, while suppliers still must supply account data to the utility to complete the switch (³).
Switching fees vary by utility:
- AEP Ohio eliminated its $5 switching fee for moves to a retail supplier under a rate-case settlement effective April 1, 2026 (¹²).
- FirstEnergy Ohio utilities kept the $5 fee in a distribution case; suppliers reported about $2 million collected annually (¹³).
After supplier defaults, PUCO has sometimes waived switching fees for 60 days so affected customers can re-shop without a tariff penalty (¹⁴; ¹⁵).
Business customers classified as mercantile face separate expedited-return rules when dropping back to SSO—completed within three business days under HB 15, with PUCO adding notice requirements (¹⁶).
Red flags and comparison traps
Teaser rates without a written contract. If it is not in the supply agreement, treat it as marketing.
Effective rate blindness. Monthly fees and non-commodity charges can make a 7.9¢ flyer cost more than SSO; utilities have told regulators customers often cannot derive an effective kWh rate from consolidated bills alone (⁸).
Ignoring PTC movement. SSO/PTC updates when auctions and tariffs change. A great deal in May may be mediocre after a default-rate reset—PUCO has historically posted new PTCs when encouraging customers to shop ahead of increases (¹).
Unauthorized switching. Treat your utility account number like a bank account. Enroll only through channels you initiated.
Assuming national advice fits Ohio. Northeast retail markets differ sharply from ERCOT; industry coverage notes commercial customers participate in retail choice at much higher rates than residential customers in several states (¹⁷). Ohio small commercial customers under 25 kW demand now share many residential marketing protections under HB 15 (³)—but rate classes still matter when you compare offers.
A one-page worksheet
Field | Supplier A | Supplier B | SSO / PTC
Supply rate (¢/kWh) | | |
Term and rate type (fixed/variable) | | |
Monthly recurring fees | | |
Early termination fee | | |
Est. supply $ at your kWh | | |
Beats PTC? (Y/N) | | |
Run the table at your actual average kWh and at least one stress-test month. Delivery charges should look familiar across rows; only the supply line should move.
Bottom line
Ohio Apples to Apples is the commission's official lens for comparing CRES supply offers against the price to compare benchmark tied to standard service offer default generation (¹; ²). Use it with your bill in hand: PTC, kWh, and contract PDF—not a door-hanger cent rate.
Shop when the math clears the benchmark at your usage; stay on SSO when it does not. Watch intro-to-variable conversions, switching fees that depend on your utility, and enrollment rules that now require verified identity (¹¹). The wires stay put; the supply line is where Apples to Apples earns its name.