February heating bills have come due. Are you experiencing sticker shock?
On Cincinnati Edition, we discuss some of the more surprising reasons for the high heating costs and helpful strategies if you are struggling to pay your bill.
Guest:
- Amy Spiller, regional president, Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky
A full transcript of this conversation is below.
Beginning at noon, call 513-419-7100 or email talk@wvxu.org to have your voice heard on this topic. You can catch a recorded replay at 8 p.m.
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This episode was transcribed using a combination of AI speech recognition and human editors and has been lightly edited for clarity. It may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.
February heating bills are coming due. Are you having sticker shock? You're listening to Cincinnati Edition on WVXU, I'm Lucy May. Joining me now to talk about why our bills are so high and the help that's available if you're struggling to pay is Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky regional president Amy Spiller, thanks for being here. Amy, for anybody who hasn't opened their most recent bill from Duke, how bad is it going to be? What should we be prepared for?
Amy: Lucy, I first wanted to thank you for the opportunity to talk with you and others today, because I know that higher utility bills can be incredibly frustrating, so wanted to spend some time talking about why we are seeing higher bills at this moment, and utility bills are influenced primarily by two factors, those are the amount of energy that we use Every day, and also the cost for that energy makes sense, and we have seen this to be a very cold winter, sustained frigid temperatures, and so that means it takes more energy to heat our homes and keep our businesses running. So that's one of the factors that we need to keep in mind, and the other is that we're seeing the cost of electricity increase.
So what does this amount to I mean, I'm sure every home is different. Certainly some people live in super energy efficient homes, some people like me, not so much. Every home is different. But what have you been hearing from customers? Are they seeing their bills twice as high as they usually see 40% higher? Is there an average that you all are hearing from customers?
Amy: We're not hearing a particular average, but we do know bills are higher this year than they were a year ago, this time, and even homes of similar sizes can consume different amounts of energy. To your point, a lot of that could be related to the efficiency of that home. Those that are more tightly sealed can typically consume less energy, so that certainly is a factor. But yes, we are hearing from customers that their utility bills are higher this winter than last winter.
Okay, you mentioned that the cost of the energy that we're buying, either natural gas or coal based electricity or whatever, that those costs have gotten higher. How much higher? What? What is that? How is that cost figuring into these bills for people?
Amy: Certainly, and as we think about the cost on the electric side for one of our customers here in Ohio, we have to think about it in terms of three components. We have to the power has to be generated, produced and then transmitted across those really tall power lines that move power at high speeds and then sort of delivered into homes and businesses and in Ohio, some may not appreciate how we're structured. The state is deregulated, which means that utility companies like Duke Energy Ohio do not own generating assets or plants. We don't own power plants. We don't produce the power. We continue to deliver that power into homes after we buy it from a market, based from a market. And what we are seeing Lucy is that this market is experiencing challenges.
What kind of challenges?
Amy: Well the supply power production, we have seen power plants, mostly coal plants, retire, and the replacement generation is taking a longer time to get up and running. Is that green energy primarily it, and it is primarily green energy. So the new power plants that are coming into this market system are primarily renewable. And so you have supply challenges, on the one hand, and then we're also seeing, because of advanced manufacturing, the reshoring of manufacturing and data centers, there's increased demand for power, and when you have an imbalance between supply and demand, that can have an effect on prices, it can increase prices.
Well, we're talking about high heating bills this month, and we're going to talk about the help that's available if you're struggling to pay what you owe. You just talked about a lot of important stuff there that I want to dig into. But this supply and demand problem is, is that why we are seeing the increase in utility bill costs? Is outpacing inflation, just all over the country?
Amy: Over the country you are seeing, you are seeing those impacts to utility bills. But I think Lucy, the geography and the location is something we can't forget, right? When you look at California, for example, the number of the wildfire situation that they have in California, the steps that those utilities are taking for wildfire mitigation that's contributing to their higher utility bills. In the northeast, you are seeing really that participation in very volatile, unpredictable markets influencing utility bills there. You know, here in Ohio and in Kentucky, we have done very well against the national average for utility prices, and we at Duke Energy, continue every day to do what we can to keep our costs of providing service as low as possible.
You also mentioned data centers, and that's something we've talked about a lot on this program. We were just had a whole show on data centers yesterday. How do those figure into the mix? I mean, what? How does, how do those data centers really have an effect on, you know, general customers bills?
Amy: So the data centers, I know are a very hot topic at the moment, we are seeing that activity in Ohio, as well as in other states, data centers do use a lot of power, and we at Duke Energy are mindful of that. We want to be sure we have structures in place so that other customers are not unfairly burdened with the cost that is required to serve a data center. So we have agreements. We have conditions for service with data centers where they're making commitments. They will stay with us for a minimum, minimum period of time. They will have a minimum monthly billing amount they will pay for those costs that are necessary to develop the engineering plans and the infrastructure to serve them. So we want to be mindful that we're putting those structures in place to protect other customers. Data centers are again a large consumer of power, and when they come into our service territory, they actually can help to spread some of the costs across a larger footprint.
So you're saying data centers can be friend, not foe when it comes to utility costs?
Amy: They can be they can be.
How is that?
Amy: Because I know a lot of the concern that we've heard, you know, from residents, from listeners, from state lawmakers, is these data centers are coming in. They need so much power, and they're driving up costs for everybody. That's the kind of narrative that we hear over and over.
How can they help spread those costs?
Amy: you know and I think some of it. You know, we talked again about the market where we're going to buy power the data centers would be served by that same market. And so you need to make sure there is adequate power to serve your existing customers, but also these new customers, including data centers, that may come in. And when you again have that imbalance, it can put some upward pressure on the prices. So those who manage the market, an organization called PJM is looking at solutions. How do we bring more supply in to serve these data centers and insulate other customers from those cost pressures. We are also, again, as I said, looking at tools to ensure that other customers are not unfairly burdened or exposed for the cost to serve the data centers. But when you grow your customer base, your customer population, and there are certain costs that are spread across across your entire customer base. A bigger base means you have more more customers to help contribute to those system wide costs.
Okay, kind of the overhead, almost situation, okay, I want to so you mentioned that Duke is sometimes forging these agreements with data centers to make sure they're paying for what they need. They're making certain commitments. That's something that Duke can do with the data centers, independent of, you know, state regulations, state lawmakers, all that kind of stuff. Because we've been hearing from state lawmakers about, do they need to have regulations for data centers that require these kinds of agreements? But you're saying Duke can make those agreements independent of that?
Amy: We operate under, as you just noted, under the purview of our state regulator. There's the Public Utilities Commission here in Ohio and the Public Service Commission in Kentucky. And so we have sort of rules of engagement, I will call them, and so our regulators will approve a structure. So we have, and we call them large load arrangements, not just data centers, but any large consumer of power where we have, again, a framework approved by our regulators, and then the ability within that framework to enter into these agreements with with large load, including data center customers.
You're tuned to Cincinnati Edition on WVXU I'm Lucy May. We're back with our conversation about February's high heating bills and help that's available to assist people struggling to pay what's due. My guest is Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky regional president, Amy Spiller. Amy, I do want to talk about that help that's available. Before we get to that, we got a call from Mark. He asks, two years ago, someone knocked on our door to renew our energy providers. I said, No. Then I went online and chose the cheapest provider. My bill has been the same month after month. I see people on next door talking about expensive bills. I don't know why ours stays the same and theirs have gotten so high. I believe my energy provider is called us Gas and Electric, and I guess we just locked in a price. Can it work that way for some customers?
Amy: So what Mark is referring to is customer choice. This is a statewide program where electric and gas customers have the opportunity to produce the supplier. Again, I shared that we don't produce power anymore as the utility, we go out and buy that power, and so there are competitive suppliers who can equally supply that power to to customers. It is a program Lucy, that has been in existence for almost 3020, 26 years. Now almost 30 years. And I would advise customers to to gather information to understand the terms and conditions of any offer that they may receive, and make the decisions that are that are right for their circumstance.
And that's on the Ohio side of the river. But it doesn't work that same way in Kentucky, does it?
Amy: It does not in Kentucky, we actually are what's known as a vertically integrated. Utility, and that means we we produce the power and then we deliver that power to our customers in Kentucky, okay?
And we have a caller on the line. Hi, Marie, thanks so much for calling. What's your question or comment?
Caller: Yes, I volunteer for St Vincent de Paul in Avondale. And our neighbors, bills have have gone skyrocketing, and they're a very poor community. One neighbor's bill went up from 453, to 6091. Of course, that also I've encouraged her to get on the PIP program, but she could never get through on that number, the PIP number. And I hear this from neighbors all the time, that it's nearly impossible to get an appointment. And then other neighbors tell us that they are that they were pressured or encouraged to join other electric companies and that their bills have gone up there, so we have been advising them to get away from these other companies. So I wonder if you could help me on that as well.
Okay, thanks, Marie. Amy, what do you think, Marie?
Amy: Thank you for calling in and Lucy. Marie identified a couple of different matters there. The first again, is Ohio's customer choice program, and suppliers can offer rates that are not established or determined by state regulators. So Duke Energy, Ohio, our rates are established by our regulators. We can't change them without their approval, and so some customers can see variable prices, where they have a certain price for a set period of time, and then that price changes. So again, I would just encourage customers to make sure they understand the terms and conditions what they're signing up for. Are there termination charges? If you might decide to cancel early to really be educated and make the best decision for their circumstance. Marie also talked about Ohio's PIP program. This is a program that is well intended, structured to support eligible, low income customers when they are having challenges with their bills. It is administered locally by community action agencies, and I think there is some enrollment that can happen online or with the community action agencies. We are certainly happy to help partner however we can to make sure customers are getting those resources that they need.
Okay, so if somebody's having trouble getting through on the telephone line that number, they might be real busy right now, maybe they can try to look for an online way to register and get become part of that program. Correct? Okay, well, thank you, Marie. I hope that helps. Best of luck to your neighbors. We have another call on the line. Hi, Luanne, Thanks for your call. What's your question?
Caller: My question is, you know, when I look at my bill there, besides the usage charge, there are other charges, like delivery, recovery, and I can there a whole slew of other charges, and I don't understand what they're for. Because when I first noticed it, it was like, all those other charges, doubled my usage charge. So it was like, what?
Yeah, well, thank you. We've got the person right here in the studio who I bet can answer that question. I think delivery rider is one of the charges that folks see. Can you talk us through what all those different things are?
Amy: Sure and Luanne, I appreciate, I appreciate your question. We know that utility bills can be confusing to interpret. Our utility bills here in Ohio reflect different cost recovery mechanisms that the commission has established for us again. So we have the cost of the power or the natural gas commodity. We have the cost to maintain the infrastructure, the pipes or the wires to deliver that that power. We also have other mechanisms that are designed so that the company recovers no more or no less than the cost to provide that service. So, for example, we have a recovery mechanism for tree trimming, so that we are recovering no more or no less than what it costs for that service. And so those items can be delineated separately on the bill. But we're working, and we will continue to work on how we can, we can explain and break down the bill for our customers.
Which one of those things does a delivery rider represent, or is that a combination of all those different charges?
Amy: It would be a separate line item, Lucy on the bill. And what does that mean though delivery rider. So delivery riders can relate to delivering the cost, delivering the cost of delivering that power to to the customer.
Okay, so maintenance of the systems that Duke uses to get the power from where where you starts to where it needs to go to the customers, correct. Okay, okay. Well, thank you, Luanne. I hope that helps. Thanks for listening. Thanks for calling Amy. Let's talk about some of these other programs that are available to assist people. You mentioned the PIP program in Ohio. There are people all over. Who are worried about these bills? What are some of the other programs out there to help.
Amy: Certainly, and Lucy, I guess I'd like to approach that from two different ways, if I may. The first is for any customer, and we know this is a challenging time with colder weather and higher costs for the for the product, but we have at Duke Energy, again, for our residential customers, a usage alert. So halfway through your billing month, you can get a usage alert that tells you where your bill is tracking for that month. Our customers have the ability to pick their own due date, so a due date on their bill that aligns with their financial circumstances. If you know you might be late, we have a delayed due date so you can delay the payment of your bill and not avoid any late payment fees. We also have budget billing, and that allows a customer to more evenly spread out their monthly bills over the year. But for our customers who are in need. We do have programs such as our share the LIGHT Program. This is largely funded by our shareholders, our employees, our customers, and it provides relief for eligible customers, both during the summer and during the winter, when those bills can be higher. There are programs available through federal assistance dollars, such as LIHEAP, which is a low income Energy Assistance Program. We have here through the state, the Community Action Agency, again, the partnerships that we have with them, even with the Salvation Army. Pip is a really good program here in Ohio. We have the United Way and their 211, services and a great partnership there with the United Way and all the work that we do. My ask, if you will, of our customers is, if they're struggling to call us. We are here to support them and to help them address the unique situation that they may be experiencing at that moment.
And does Duke have any recommendations that you give customers about how to maybe prevent some of these costs? I wonder, is there an ideal place to set your thermostat, for example, to so these costs don't become so humongous when it gets so cold outside.
Amy: Yes, and thank you for asking. So we do try to share those, those tips, I think, in the winter time, if we could use caulk and weather stripping to seal the drafty windows and the drafty doors, set the thermostat in the winter where maybe it's a little teeny bit colder and in the summertime a little bit hotter. We want our customers to be comfortable, but adjusting that thermostat can help as well. We call them energy vampires. When we have appliances that are plugged in but we're not using them, they also can consume power on sunny days during the winter, throw open the shades and the blinds and let the sun do its job to help warm the house, but be sure to close those shades and blinds at nightfall. And it's interesting. You know, we see ceiling fans in so many locations, but you need to make sure they're rotating the right way, whether in the summer or in the winter time. So tips that we have available on our website, but that we also share with our customers through various newsletters and other communications. Okay, personal question, where is your thermostat set? Our thermostat is set in the wintertime at 67.
Okay, okay, I'm gonna say ours is a little lower than that, because we're cheap skates, but that's my mom always said, That's why you've got sweaters and blankets you can pull up under that.
Amy: Yes, absolutely. And when you're not home during the day, right? Adjust the thermostat. I think with all the programmable thermostats we have, there's that opportunity as well.
That's right? Well, I have been talking with Duke Energy, Ohio and Kentucky regional president Amy Spiller, thank you so much for your time today.