Power pricespoles apartCELINA, Ohio — A household in this city along the

shores of Grand Lake St. Marys pays about $91 forthe same amount of electricity that costs about

$153 in rural parts of Butler County, about 80 miles south. •The gap is the result of an Ohio electricity system whoseinequity is stark but whose details are not widely known orunderstood. • Among the 52 largest electricity utilities, Cel-ina, in northwestern Ohio, has the lowest rates; severalrural electricity cooperatives

Dispatch special report

CHARLIE ZIMKUS DISPATCH

By Dan Gearino • THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Statewide electricity rates showdramatic differences in Ohio,

sometimes even between neighbors

� DISPATCH.COM: CHECK YOUR RATE AND COMPAREBY USING OUR INTERACTIVE MAP.

See Power prices Page A12

Secret deal withPakistan startedCIA’s drone warIn a backroom bargain in June 2004,a U.S. drone killed a Pashtun tribes-man fighting Pakistan’s army. Inexchange, the U.S. got access toairspace it had long sought to huntdown its own enemies. The dealhelped move the CIA from spy agen-cy to paramilitary organization, andlaunched years of controversy both inPakistan and the U.S. • Page A3

Two decades afterprison riot, guard’sson can’t move onBobby Vallandingham doesn’t flinchwhen telling how he feels 20 yearsafter his father was killed by inmatesin the Lucasville prison riot. He wantsto forgive, but as prison guard RobertVallandingham’s killers wait on DeathRow, Bobby wants vengeance, too,write Reporters Mike Wagner and JillRiepenhoff. • Page E1

Army chaplainfinally gets medal60 years after warIn the Korean War, chaplain EmilKapaun of Kansas pulled woundedsoldiers to safety, stole food sostarving men could eat and keptsoldiers from giving up in a squalidPOW camp. He died there, as themen he’d helped wept. On Thursday,he’ll be awarded the Medal of Honor,which veterans say is long overdue. • Nation & World, A17

DISPATCH.COM

�

$2.00 SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013

Only a third of Ohioans saythe General Assembly has itspriorities straight.

Just a quarter trust lawmak-ers and others in state govern-ment “to do what is right” atleast most of the time.

And a mere sixth believe termlimits enacted by Ohio votersmore than 20 years ago havemade the legislature better.

What do those who haveworked with state legislators fordecades say about that lastfinding from a Saperstein Asso-ciates poll for The Dispatch?

“I think term limits has beensort of a disaster,” said LarryLong, who’s spent the past 39years with the County Commis-sioners Association of Ohio.

Ohio politics

Support forterm limitsvanishing By Darrel RowlandTHE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

See Term limits Page A10

Hurry up and wait.That’s the uncomfortable

reality for many local emergen-cy-department patients. Andwhich hospital you go to is amajor factor in how long youwait.

That finding comes fromlocal hospital data recentlymade public for the first timeby the federal government.

A typical patient admitted toOhio State University’s WexnerMedical Center through anemergency department spendsmore than nine hours thereuntil moving to a room else-where in the hospital. That isfrom the time someone shows

Public health

Emergencydepartmentwaits varyBy Ben SutherlyTHE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

See Emergency Page A14

High: 66 • Low: 50Details on Page B10

Columbus spends $32M to fix roads / B1Louisville reaches national title game / C1

Wendy’s struggling with breakfast / D1Shakespeare helps autistic kids / F1

Inside:Couponsworth upto $212 Coupon values vary by delivery zone.

HOUSEHOLDS

AMOUNT OFTYPICAL BILLJAN. 2013

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Duke Energy Ohio

FirstEnergy, Cleveland Electric Illuminating

FirstEnergy, Toledo Edison

FirstEnergy, Ohio Edison

AEP, Ohio Power

AEP, Columbus Southern Power

Dayton Power & Light

431,872

166,889

95,464

333,001

606,316

666,996

441,880

$113.40

$120.21

$120.79

$123.38

$129.38

$132.68

$138.16

INVESTOR-OWNEDUTILITIES

HOUSEHOLDS

AMOUNT OFTYPICAL BILLJAN. 2013

Paulding-Putnam Electric

South Central Power

Holmes-Wayne Electric

Frontier Power

Consolidated Electric

Carroll Electric

Darke Rural Electric

Lorain-Medina R.E.C.

North Central Electric

North Western Electric

Licking Rural Electric

Pioneer Rural Electric

Midwest Electric

Firelands Electric

Mid-Ohio Energy

Adams Rural Electric

Union Rural Electric

Logan County Coop Power & Light

Buckeye Rural Electric

Guernsey-Muskingum Electric

Washington Electric

Butler Rural Electric

Hancock-Wood Electric (declined to provide rate information)

RURAL COOPERATIVEUTILITIESHOUSEHOLDS

AMOUNT OFTYPICAL BILLJAN. 2013

Celina

Wapakoneta

Amherst

Piqua

Bryan

Tipp City

Cuyahoga Falls

Niles

Orrville

Painesville

Bowling Green

Shelby

Wadsworth

Napoleon

Westerville

Dover

Hamilton

Lebanon

Hudson

Galion

Jackson

Cleveland

Columbus

6,809

4,693

5,229

9,385

5,049

5,269

22,594

10,023

6,255

10,173

12,682

4,909

10,987

5,108

14,241

5,775

26,085

8,033

5,619

5,803

3,375

65,785

9,363

$90.65

$92.50

$93.47

$94.36

$96.60

$97.31

$97.61

$98.90

$103.53

$104.63

$107.41

$107.68

$108.80

$108.95

$111.30

$111.57

$111.87

$112.33

$113.16

$114.65

$115.63

$118.16

$119.50

CITY-OWNEDUTILITIES

Varying ratesThe Dispatch has gathered rate informa-tion for 52 electricity utilities in the state that serve 98 percent of all residential customers, comparing costs for a “typical” customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours in a month. The January 2013 typical bill is the result of Dispatch research.

Note: City-owned utilities serve territories too small to show as a color on the map, but their locations are shown.

Sources: Dispatch research, Energy Information Administration

9,036

106,243

13,855

8,017

14,314

10,788

4,885

14,670

8,593

5,616

23,050

15,604

10,303

8,479

7,110

7,422

8,083

4,288

18,027

14,725

8,213

10,833

10,832

$116.08

$117.78

$120.92

$124.10

$125.45

$126.90

$127.06

$127.61

$128.48

$132.00

$132.30

$132.35

$135.00

$135.25

$135.91

$136.39

$136.39

$140.45

$141.81

$142.72

$150.00

$153.38

not disclosed

˙

˙

˙

˙˙

˙

˙

˙ ˙

˙˙

˙˙

˙

˙ ˙

˙

˙

Columbus

Jackson

Lebanon

Tipp City

Piqua˙

˙

Hamilton˙

˙

˙ Westerville

Dover

Orrville

Galion

Shelby

Wapakoneta

Cuyahoga Falls

NilesHudson

ClevelandAmherstBowling Green

Napoleon

Celina

BryanPainesville

Wadsworth

$90 to $99.99

$100 to $109.99

$110 to $119.99

$120 to $129.99

$130 to $139.99

$140 to $149.99

$150 and over

are among the highest. This isbased on a comparison of thetotal bill for a house using 1,000kilowatt-hours in January.

In central Ohio, Westerville’scity-owned utility has the lowestrates and Dayton Power & Lighthas the highest.

The Dispatch obtained rateinformation for electricity util-ities that together serve 98 per-cent of the state’s households,showing who pays the most,who pays the least and whosecosts have been the most vola-tile. The list is a snapshot of atime when clean-air rules aremaking it more expensive toturn on the lights and whenderegulation is making pricesless predictable.

With few exceptions, theconsumers interviewed for thisstory were unaware of how theirrates compared with others’.They lacked the informationthat would help them ask in-formed questions of utilitymanagers.

In some parts of Ohio, peopleon the same road can experi-ence drastic price differences.For example, the area just westof Celina is served by DP&L,which has a standard rate that is60 percent more expensive thanthe one in Celina.

But even people with lowrates feel a sting when theywrite that check each month.

“We’re just like everyoneelse,” said Dennis Howick, afarmer served by Celina’s utility.He was eating lunch at theFountain Restaurant, just offMain Street. “We groan andgripe when we get a big electricbill.”

Many utility executives werewary of disclosing their rates forthis story. They said the cost ofservice is closely tied to terrainand usage patterns that cannotbe explained by one number.After repeated inquiries, allutilities with at least 4,000households provided the in-formation, except one: Han-cock-Wood Electric Cooperativein the northwestern part of thestate.

Bernadette Unger, a yogateacher in Butler County, didnot know her utility is amongthe most expensive. But shegives Butler Rural Electric Coop-erative high marks for customerservice. It serves 10,833 house-holds in a territory northwest ofCincinnati.

“I think they do a great job forme,” she said. “They’re verypersonable.”

High rates can act as a damp-er on the local economy anddiscourage businesses frommoving to an area, said SamRandazzo, attorney for Industri-al Energy Users-Ohio.

“For a large steel manufactur-er, a 10th of a cent of a differ-ence in the (electricity rate) canbe a million dollars or more peryear,” he said. “So when you seethe range of rates, minor differ-ences can cause people to make

extraordinary selections.”While businesses do their

homework before picking alocation, residents often havelittle understanding of theirrates.

“Nobody pays attention” tothe details of electricity rates,

said Jim Lazar, an electricityconsultant in Washington statewho does work across the coun-try. “The electric bill is not a bigpart of people’s lives.”

And yet, the costs add up tosome big numbers. Ohio resi-dents spent $6.1 billion on

home electricity in 2012, ac-cording to the Energy Informa-tion Administration.

Is it fair that some householdspay so much more than others?

“Questions of equity are bestposed to priests, philosophersand politicians,” Lazar said,

later adding, “It certainly seemsunfair.”

There is no easy way tochange the situation if you areserved by a utility that has highrates or unresponsive service.

In Boulder, Colo., voters haveapproved forming a city-ownedutility, and officials are re-searching whether this wouldbe financially feasible, accord-ing to the city’s website. Sup-porters of the switch want morelocal control and more use ofrenewable energy, among otherchanges.

The opposite is happening inVero Beach, Fla., where resi-dents voted this month to sellthe city’s electricity utility toFlorida Power & Light. This islargely a response to high cityrates, according to local mediareports.

There is nothing quite likeeither situation in Ohio.

The big guysAbout 80 percent of the state’s

households are served by fourinvestor-owned companies:American Electric Power, First-Energy, Duke Energy and DP&L.In this group, DP&L and AEPhave the highest rates.

For AEP, this is a contrastfrom a decade ago when theColumbus-based utility hadsome of the lowest rates in thestate and country. Prices haverisen because of environmentalrules, maintenance costs and aseries of new charges approvedby the Public Utilities Commis-sion of Ohio.

FirstEnergy and Duke cus-tomers have seen their billsdecrease in recent years be-cause the companies adoptedrates that are tied to the marketprice of electricity and the mar-ket price has been low. AEP andDP&L have both begun a multi-

ELECTRICITY RATES By the numbers

$6.1 billionThe amount Ohio households paid

in 2012 for electricity

$114.20Monthly bill for an Ohio household

paying the state average rate in2011, based on 1,000 kwh use

$85.10Monthly bill for an Ohio household

paying the state average rate in2005, based on 1,000 kwh use

34 percentIncrease in the state average rate

from 2005 to 2011

24 percentIncrease in the U.S. average ratefrom 2005 to 2011, though Ohio

remains slightly below the nationalaverage

Source: Energy Information Administration

Notes: Figures are the most recent full yearavailable. 2005 figures are not adjusted for

inflation.

Power pricesFROM PAGE A1

Continued on Page A13

A12 THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH TODAY’S TOP STORIES SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013 � �

� � THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH TODAY’S TOP STORIES SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013 A13

year transition to market prices.One caveat on prices from

investor-owned utilities: Theircustomers can choose a suppli-er for the electricity generationportion of the bill, which canlead to possible savings off ofthe standard prices listed here.The standard price is the oneyou receive if you do not choosea different supplier.

Before Duke’s standard pricedropped, it had risen steadilyfor several years. This combina-tion of ups and downs madeDuke’s prices the most-volatilein the state from 2005 to 2011,varying by an average of about10 percent each year, based onan analysis of Energy Informa-tion Administration data. Theleast volatile has been Cleve-land’s city-owned utility, whichvaried an average of less than 1 percent.

Beyond the large, publiclytraded companies is a diversegroup of smaller utilities. Theyfall into two categories:� Rural electricity cooper-

atives: These nonprofit, mem-ber-owned companies cametogether decades ago to provideelectricity to rural areas that theinvestor-owned utilities didn’twant to serve, and now theyaccount for about 10 percent ofthe state’s households. Theyhave the lowest populationdensity and some of the highestrates.� Municipal utilities: About

10 percent of households live ina city or village where the elec-

tric utility is owned by the localgovernment. Publicly ownedutilities have some of the lowestrates because they have thehighest density and no need topay dividends to shareholders.

The smaller utilities are notregulated by the state. If youhave a complaint, you need togo to your city council or therural electricity-cooperativemanagement. At the same time,a smaller utility often has morepersonal service, customers say.If you’re upset about something,it’s easy to get the mayor or CEOon the phone.

How we got hereA map of Ohio electricity-

utility service territories lookslike a collection of paint splat-ters. Most of the companies

serve noncontiguous areas, withislands of customers connectedby power lines that run througha different utility’s territory.

The boundaries are the resultof more than a century of devel-opment and mergers. Publiclytraded companies spread out tocover the largest cities, whichwere the most profitable toserve. To connect the cities, thecompanies also covered some ofthe rural areas in between.

“It’s no different from drawingpolitical lines, really, like gerry-mandering,” said David Bell-man, an independent energyanalyst based in Columbus.

Many local governmentsstarted nonprofit electricitycompanies that served custom-ers only within the municipalborders.

While urban areas receivedelectricity, most of the state’srural territory remained in thedark because it was the leastprofitable to serve. This beganto change with the Depression-area Rural Electrification Act.Farmers used federal aid to setup member-owned cooper-atives to provide the service.

“We’re serving the areas no-body else would serve 75 yearsago,” said John Metcalf, CEO ofMid-Ohio Energy Cooperativein Kenton. “When we came intoexistence, only 10 percent of thefarms had power.”

The state has a total of 115electricity utilities. Those notincluded in this report are allsmall municipal or cooperativeutilities — down to the smallest,the village of Custar, southwestof Bowling Green, which had104 households in 2011.

Looking across the country,the states with the fewest util-ities tend to be dominated by afew investor-owned companies,and those with the most utilitieshave a high number of city-owned providers.

In Washington, D.C., every-one is served by the same com-pany. In Iowa, the heartland ofmunicipal utilities, there are 182 providers. Texas has themost utilities, with 200, but itssystem is unique because it putsunregulated power companieson the same list as utilities.

Columbus’ municipal utility,which serves more than 9,300households, mostly in the city’solder neighborhoods, is thestate’s most-expensive munici-

pal system at an average $119.50a month. Looking at the full listof Ohio electricity utilities,though, Columbus is right be-low the median, which is about$120. Columbus is also lessexpensive than the standardrate for AEP, the utility thatserves most households in thecity.

Most of Ohio’s municipalutilities are members of Amer-ican Municipal Power, a Colum-bus-based company that man-ages energy purchases. AMPencouraged its members to buyshares in several new powerplants, including the PrairieState Energy Campus in south-western Illinois. The project hassuffered mechanical problemsand budget overruns. Theycould contribute to future rateincreases in the communitiesthat bought into it, includingGalion, Cleveland, Hamiltonand dozens of others. Colum-bus’ and Westerville’s utilitiesdid not buy into the plant.

Celina, which owns a smallshare of Prairie State, has keptits rates low by carefully manag-ing its expenses and because ithas a large industrial base for acity its size, said Mayor JeffreyHazel. But he gets more com-plaints about rates than pats onthe back.

“The majority of people, justby human nature, don’t lookoutside themselves,” he said. “Itwould be rare for someone fromCelina to go outside the city tosee what other people pay.”

dgearino@dispatch.com@dispatchenergy

DAN GEARINO DISPATCH

Celina Mayor Jeffrey Hazel says the city’s utility keeps rates low bymanaging expenses and because it has a large industrial base.

Continued from Page A1