Business electricity and natural gas suppliers in Ohio
How commercial and industrial companies in Ohio buy electricity and gas: which utilities deliver it, what happens if you do not choose a supplier, how PJM sets the costs behind the price, and how to run a competitive purchase.
Every commercial and industrial customer of Ohio's investor-owned electric utilities can buy supply from a certified competitive retail electric service (CRES) provider. Customers who do not choose stay on the utility's Standard Service Offer, priced from wholesale auctions. Discovery Energy Utility Audits buys electricity and natural gas for multi-site companies with sites in Ohio: it inventories every account, invites every active supplier to one RFP, compares offers line for line, tracks each contract to renewal in TaraBase and audits the utility bills behind it. Its procurement fee is disclosed in advance.
01 / 07
Who delivers electricity in Ohio
The utility in each territory owns the wires and bills delivery under a tariff the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approves, whoever supplies the energy. Municipal utilities and cooperatives usually sit outside retail choice. Every utility in the state is listed in Discovery's Ohio electric utility directory.
| Utility | Area | Grid |
|---|---|---|
| AEP Ohio (Ohio Power) | Central and southern Ohio, including Columbus | PJM (AEP zone) |
| Duke Energy Ohio | Cincinnati and southwest Ohio | PJM (DEOK zone) |
| AES Ohio | Dayton and west-central Ohio | PJM (Dayton zone) |
| Ohio Edison (FirstEnergy) | Akron, Canton, Youngstown | PJM (ATSI zone) |
| Cleveland Electric Illuminating (FirstEnergy) | Cleveland and northeast Ohio | PJM (ATSI zone) |
| Toledo Edison (FirstEnergy) | Toledo and northwest Ohio | PJM (ATSI zone) |
02 / 07
What happens if a business does not choose a supplier
Customers who do not shop receive the utility's Standard Service Offer (SSO). Each utility buys SSO supply through competitive wholesale auctions overseen by the PUCO, run by an independent auction manager, so the default price follows the market with a lag. The SSO is a benchmark (the "price to compare"), not a contract: it changes as new auction tranches replace old ones, and it gives a business no control over when its price resets.
Ohio also has new rules for very large loads. The PUCO approved a tariff in July 2025 requiring new AEP Ohio data centers above 25 MW to pay for at least 85% of their subscribed capacity for up to 12 years. Discovery's briefing on Ohio's data center tariff explains what it changes for manufacturers.
03 / 07
Capacity, transmission and why prices moved
In PJM, capacity is bought in a forward auction and charged to each account through its peak load contribution (PLC), set from the account's demand in the five summer peak hours of the year before. The auction price was $28.92 per MW-day for 2024/25, $329.17 for 2026/27, $333.44 for 2027/28 and $325 for 2028/29, the third auction in a row at the price cap. At $329.17 per MW-day, each 1 MW of PLC costs about $120,147 a year before the utility's adjustment factors. Ohio commercial prices rose 24.5% in the first half of 2026 against the same period of 2025, the largest increase in the country, as capacity costs reached bills.
How a contract treats these charges, fixed or passed through, matters more than the headline rate. See charges by market and what to do about PJM capacity charges.
04 / 07
Natural gas for businesses in Ohio
Ohio's large gas utilities run choice programs, and larger commercial and industrial sites can buy gas from a supplier under the utility's transportation service. The main gas utilities are Columbia Gas of Ohio, Enbridge Gas Ohio (formerly Dominion Energy Ohio), CenterPoint Energy Ohio and Duke Energy Ohio. Customers who do not choose buy at the utility's Standard Choice Offer, also set by auction. Ohio's winter delivery capacity is rated in Discovery's Ohio natural gas winter stress record and the Cincinnati capacity outlook.
Discovery's natural gas procurement page explains transport eligibility, NYMEX and basis, balancing, and firm versus interruptible service.
05 / 07
Brokers, suppliers and licensing in Ohio
Ohio requires power brokers and aggregators to be certified by the PUCO under Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 4901:1-24. Ask any broker for its certificate number. Discovery Energy acts as an energy broker in its procurement work; its energy broker licenses and registrations are held by Energy Auction Exchange, LLC. Ask Discovery for the license or registration that covers your Ohio sites. Suppliers serving Ohio customers are licensed by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), which keeps the list of active suppliers. A broker can only bid your Ohio sites to suppliers active in each utility territory, and only if it is licensed or registered where the state requires it. How brokers are paid, and what to ask, is covered in energy broker fees.
06 / 07
How Discovery buys electricity and gas in Ohio
Inventory
Every Ohio account: utility, rate class, default or supplier service, contract end date, usage, capacity and transmission tags.
Check the bills
Rate class, riders, demand and meter setup are tested against the tariff before a contract locks in the baseline. See utility bill audits.
Time and bid
One RFP to every active supplier, timed with the monthly Energy Risk Report, with Ohio sites bid alongside the rest of the portfolio. See the multi-state RFP.
Compare and sign
Offers side by side on the same terms, in each structure that fits: fixed, fixed with pass-throughs, index, block and index or layered. No contract is signed without your written approval.
Track
Every contract in TaraBase, with renewals flagged well in advance so nothing rolls onto default or month-to-month pricing.
How far back utility overcharges can be refunded in Ohio is on the Ohio refunds page.
07 / 07
Questions about buying energy in Ohio
Can businesses choose their electricity supplier in Ohio?
Every commercial and industrial customer of Ohio's investor-owned electric utilities can buy supply from a certified competitive retail electric service (CRES) provider. Customers who do not choose stay on the utility's Standard Service Offer, priced from wholesale auctions.
Who are the retail energy providers in Ohio?
Suppliers are licensed by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), which keeps the list of active suppliers. Discovery invites every supplier active in each utility territory to its RFPs rather than a short list.
Which electric companies serve businesses in Ohio?
AEP Ohio (Ohio Power); Duke Energy Ohio; AES Ohio; Ohio Edison (FirstEnergy); Cleveland Electric Illuminating (FirstEnergy); Toledo Edison (FirstEnergy). They deliver the power; the supply can come from a competitive supplier.
How do I compare commercial electricity offers in Ohio?
Put every offer on the same product, term and treatment of capacity, transmission and other pass-through charges, then compare price. Check usage tolerance, auto-renewal and early termination terms before signing.
Sources
- AEP Ohio, Generation supply, the Standard Service Offer set by a competitive auction overseen by the PUCO.
- Ohio Administrative Code, Chapter 4901:1-24, certification of brokers and aggregators.
- EIA Table 5.6.B as compiled by StartBusinessByState, Ohio commercial prices up 24.5% in January to June 2026.
- PJM, 2026/2027 Base Residual Auction Report, $28.92 per MW-day for 2024/25 and $329.17 for 2026/27.
- PJM, 2028/2029 Base Residual Auction results (July 14, 2026), $325 per MW-day cap; 2027/28 at $333.44.
Find out what your bills should have cost.
Send one recent bill per site, or a list of accounts. We tell you where we expect findings before you sign anything. No upfront audit fee.