It’s important to us that customers understand their AEP Ohio bills, especially when and why rates increase or decrease. Generation rates continue to change. This is mostly because of supply and demand: not enough power is being generated to meet the demand for electricity.
While the amount of your electric bill heavily depends on how much electricity you use and who supplies your electric generation, we want you to be as informed as possible about what makes up those charges. If you need help with your bill, we’re here for you — keep scrolling for a video that walks you through bill assistance options.
What Goes Into Your Bill
Generation, transmission and distribution are the three main components of your electric bill. AEP Ohio is a distribution utility, but your AEP Ohio bill includes all three parts. With approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), all three components change regularly because of the way Ohio’s electric regulations are structured.
- Generation charges include the cost to generate electricity — power plants, solar farms, etc.
- Transmission charges cover the costs of the high-voltage lines that move electricity from generation sources to communities.
- Distribution charges cover the local poles and wires in your neighborhood and the employees who work on them.
Ohioans can choose to receive their generation supply from a Competitive Retail Electric Service (CRES) provider or remain on AEP Ohio’s Standard Service Offer (SSO) rate, where generation charges are passed through, dollar for dollar, with no markup.
Generation Rate Change for SSO Customers
Starting June 1, all residential AEP Ohio customers on the SSO saw their generation rate increase to $0.1012 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), a difference of 0.9% from the previous rate. For an average customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month, that equals an increase of about $1.81 per month. This rate will be in effect through May 31, 2027. AEP Ohio is not permitted to generate electricity. The company passes through generation charges with no markup and makes no money from them.
Customers who receive their generation supply from a CRES provider should check with their supplier to stay updated on any upcoming rate changes.
You Can Shop for Generation
Customers can visit EnergyChoice.Ohio.gov to compare CRES providers and their rates to AEP Ohio’s SSO rate.
Get Help When You Need It
We encourage customers to take advantage of our bill assistance tool by completing a quick, 2-minute survey to see which programs you qualify for — there are options available for everyone. Watch the video below for a step-by-step guide to using the tool. 
Electric is high enough it’s hard on fixed income people
Marcella, we’re here to help. Please check out our easy-to-use tool that shows you what kinds of bill assistance options you may qualify for. There are options available for everyone.
It’s way more than $1.81 a month increase. It’s crazy how high my bill is now compared to two years ago. Gonna have to live in my car soon at this rate! I just can’t afford it to get any freaking higher.
Basic economics – supply and demand. We need more supply to meet demand! I hope AEP will be allowed to generate more power thru all various means including the new small nuclear modules. Crazy our government won’t let AEP build more power plants to generate more electricity. This needs changed.
I totally agree with you!
My bill went up by $60 in just a few months. I live alone and haven’t increased my usage. (I have a smart thermostat and I regulate and raise the temperature in my house in the summer months, keep lights off and turn down the water heater.) That’s much higher than a $2 increase. Paying for all these huge data center’s electricity usage also should not be the responsibility of regular consumers. Has AEP Ohio seen surging profits recently? Was your CEO the highest paid utility executive in the country in 2025 at 36.6 million a year? Yes to both and it is on the backs of regular Ohioans who’ve suffered 170,000+ disconnections because they can’t afford their bills. This fleecing of elderly, families, single parents, minimum wage workers, etc. needs to stop.
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/05/01/ohios-electric-bills-are-high-and-so-are-utility-ceo-salaries/