Skip to main content

Independent. Not a utility. Not the State of Ohio.

Ohio Energy Savings

Ohio Energy Savings, LLC is certified by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio as a Power Broker (Certificate No. 26-155492E) and a Retail Natural Gas Broker (Certificate No. 26-155491G). We work only with suppliers certified by PUCO. We are not a utility and not a supplier. Your local utility still delivers your power and handles outages.

Illuminating Company Rates: Current Default Rate, Bill Parts and History

The Illuminating Company's default residential rate is 11.24¢ per kWh for October 1 – December 31, 2026, according to the PUCO Energy Choice Ohio chart. This is the price to compare: what you pay for electricity supply if you do not choose another supplier. PUCO, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, lists these Illuminating Company rates through the end of the current period, so the next period starts January 1, 2027.

Updated

In short

  • The default rate is the supply side of your bill, and delivery is billed on top. The Illuminating Company still delivers your power, reads your meter and restores outages, and it keeps billing you for delivery.
  • FirstEnergy's Ohio auctions cover all three of its utilities at once. FirstEnergy says it charges default customers what it paid for the power.
  • Our data holds 29 Illuminating Company rate periods since January 2022, and the current rate is up 22.7% from 9.16¢ per kWh (October 1 – December 31, 2025), the same period a year earlier.
  • Staying on the default rate is a valid choice. A supplier offer has terms to check first: contract length, fees and what happens when the term ends.

How much does The Illuminating Company charge per kilowatt?

The Illuminating Company prices electricity by the kilowatt-hour (kWh), not by the kilowatt, so its price per kWh is the number to look for. Its default supply rate is 11.24¢ per kWh for October 1 – December 31, 2026.

The Illuminating Company

11.24¢ per kWh

Price to compare, October 1 – December 31, 2026

Next scheduled change:

Source: PUCO Energy Choice Ohio chart. Covers October 1 – December 31, 2026. Read on .

Kilowatt-hour (kWh). The unit on your bill: one kilowatt of power used for one hour, such as a 100-watt light bulb running for 10 hours.

If you do not choose a supplier and your community does not buy electricity for you as a group, you pay the Standard Service Offer (SSO), PUCO's name for the default generation supply rate. PUCO's chart prints the per-kWh figure for it as the price to compare. PUCO says that is the amount per kWh you no longer pay your utility when you choose a supplier, so it is the number to hold offers against.

FirstEnergy's bill calls the price to compare the bypassable generation and transmission related charge. The tariff bills non-market-based transmission charges separately, through Rider NMB, which you keep paying after a switch. So treat the price to compare as the supply side only: transmission, the high-voltage grid, and distribution, the local poles and wires, are billed on top whichever supplier you use.

Parent company
FirstEnergy
Fuel
Electricity
How the default rate changes
The FirstEnergy Ohio companies reset the default generation rate each June 1 and adjust it at the start of later quarters as riders update. PUCO's chart states the period the current rate covers.
PUCO chart number
6

What does the Illuminating Company rate come to for a month of electricity?

For an example home that uses 750 kWh in a month, the supply portion at 11.24¢ per kWh comes to $84.30. This is an example, not your bill. It covers supply only and leaves out delivery charges and taxes.

To try your own usage, multiply the kWh on your bill by the rate, then divide by 100 to turn cents into dollars. This is arithmetic, not a forecast, and it says nothing about any supplier's offer.

How have Illuminating Company rates changed since January 2022?

Our data holds 29 default-rate periods for The Illuminating Company, starting in January 2022. Since then, the smallest rate is 5.08¢ per kWh for January 1 – March 31, 2022, and the largest is 12.40¢ per kWh for June 1 – June 30, 2023.

The current default rate is up 22.7% from 9.16¢ per kWh (October 1 – December 31, 2025), the same period a year earlier. At the latest change, the rate rose from 11.16¢ per kWh to 11.24¢ per kWh.

The Illuminating Company default rate by period, with the 750 kWh example
PeriodDefault rateSupply portion for 750 kWh
October 1 – December 31, 202611.24¢ per kWh$84.30
July 1 – September 30, 202611.16¢ per kWh$83.70
June 1 – June 30, 202611.11¢ per kWh$83.33
April 1 – May 31, 20269.88¢ per kWh$74.10
January 1 – March 31, 20269.50¢ per kWh$71.25
October 1 – December 31, 20259.16¢ per kWh$68.70
September 1 – September 30, 20258.72¢ per kWh$65.40
July 1 – August 31, 20259.39¢ per kWh$70.43

For every period since January 2022, see Illuminating Company historical rates. For the number to hold an offer against, see the Illuminating Company price to compare page.

When does the Illuminating Company default rate change next?

The current period runs October 1 – December 31, 2026, so the next one starts on January 1, 2027.

Since January 2022, PUCO's chart shows new Illuminating Company periods starting in January, April, June, July, September and October.

Which counties does The Illuminating Company serve?

The Illuminating Company's tariff, P.U.C.O. No. 13, is filed under the legal name The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company. It defines the territory as the part of these counties that its distribution system serves: Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, Summit and Trumbull.

Eight of the nine also appear in the tariff of Ohio Edison, and only Lake County appears in neither of the other two FirstEnergy tariffs. Your bill names your utility.

Does The Illuminating Company have a different rate for electric heating?

PUCO's chart for The Illuminating Company notes that a qualifying electric-heating customer's price to compare may differ from September 1 to May 31. It says to find your own figure in the message section of your bill in those months. Its tariff ties its heating credits to homes that were on one of its former heating rates on January 1, 2007, such as its space heating or add-on heat pump rates. Later customers at the same address can also qualify if they still meet that rate's terms.

If you heat with electricity, check that message before you compare an offer.

How does the Illuminating Company's rate compare with Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison?

The Illuminating Company's rate is 0.17¢ per kWh above Ohio Edison's and 0.02¢ per kWh below Toledo Edison's.

Four riders that the tariff says you stop paying when you switch, GEN, GCR, AER and NDU, add up to each utility's price to compare. In the current tariffs the energy part of Rider GEN and Rider GCR are the same at all three. The gap comes from the capacity part of Rider GEN, which the tariff allocates by each company's share of summer peak demand. Riders AER and NDU, which each company sets on its own, also differ.

The Ohio Edison page sets all three rates side by side.

What do the parts of an Illuminating Company bill mean?

FirstEnergy's Ohio bill terms page defines the charge groups on your bill. Two of them matter most when you weigh a supplier offer.

Bypassable Generation and Transmission Related Component. The charge for buying power and delivering it through the transmission system, which you avoid when you switch to a certified supplier.

Distribution Related Component. The charge for moving power over the local distribution lines to your home.

Despite its name, the bypassable part holds supply-side riders; non-market-based transmission charges come through Rider NMB, which stays on your bill after a switch.

The terms also list a Customer Charge, Cost Recovery Charges and an Economic Development Component.

FirstEnergy's terms page shows a 2020 modification date, so match each label to your latest Illuminating Company bill. PUCO's rate survey shows the bill parts for each utility at a monthly usage you choose.

How does Illuminating Company electric choice work, and should you use it?

Most Illuminating Company customers can buy from a certified supplier, and PUCO says the utility keeps delivering your power either way. An offer is worth taking only when its terms suit you, and the default rate fits some households better.

A supplier that PUCO certifies is a Competitive Retail Electric Service (CRES) provider. To compare Illuminating Company power suppliers, put each offer's total price per kWh next to your price to compare. Use the Apples to Apples Illuminating Company chart, PUCO's side-by-side list of offers. Our Apples to Apples guide explains the columns, and Energy Choice Ohio explains the program.

When staying put may be the better choice

  • Each offer you see is above the price to compare, or falls below it only until a monthly fee is added.
  • You would rather not track a contract end date or risk an early termination fee.
  • You are in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus (PIPP Plus), which PUCO says is not eligible for energy choice.
  • A governmental aggregation program, a buying group voters approved, already supplies you because you did not opt out.

Remember that the default rate is not fixed: it changes by period, while a fixed offer holds one price through its term.

The real risks of switching

  • Introductory price. Some contracts begin with one price for one to three billing cycles and then change to another fixed or variable price. Variable prices can change by the hour, day or month, so find out what happens at the end of the term.
  • Early termination fee (ETF). A fee for ending the contract before its term is up. Ask what it is before you sign.
  • Monthly fee. Some suppliers add a flat monthly charge to the usage rate. Include it when you compare.
  • A benchmark that moves. Your price to compare resets by period, so an offer below it today may not be below it later.

How the switch works

When you enroll, the supplier sends The Illuminating Company an electronic enrollment request. The supplier's contract must say when service is expected to start and commit to begin at the next available meter reading. The utility then mails a confirmation notice, and you have seven days from its postmark date to cancel. Ohio's utility rules require the utility to take cancellation calls around the clock.

We are a broker. Suppliers pay us a commission when a household enrolls, and we also charge a service fee. There's no cost to check, and you see the fee terms in your offer.

Where can you find rates for other Ohio electric utilities?

Each utility sets its own default rate and reset dates. Start with Electric rates in Ohio, or go straight to AES Ohio rates, Duke Energy Ohio rates, AEP Ohio electric choice, or Toledo Edison rates.

Frequently asked questions

How much does The Illuminating Company charge per kilowatt?

The Illuminating Company charges for electricity by the kilowatt-hour, not the kilowatt. Its default supply rate is 11.24¢ per kWh for October 1 – December 31, 2026, according to the PUCO Energy Choice Ohio chart. Delivery charges are separate, and a supplier's offer replaces only the supply portion.

What do the parts of an Illuminating Company bill mean?

FirstEnergy's Ohio bill terms list a Customer Charge, a Distribution Related Component, a Bypassable Generation and Transmission Related Component, Cost Recovery Charges and an Economic Development Component. The bypassable part is the charge you avoid when you switch, and non-market-based transmission charges come through Rider NMB, which you keep paying. Match the labels to your latest bill.

When does the Illuminating Company default rate change next?

The current Illuminating Company period, October 1 – December 31, 2026, ends the day before January 1, 2027, when the next period starts. Your bill shows the price to compare, and the PUCO Energy Choice Ohio chart states the period each rate covers, so check both after a change.

Is The Illuminating Company the same as Cleveland Electric Illuminating?

Yes. The Illuminating Company files its tariff, P.U.C.O. No. 13, under its legal name, The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, and FirstEnergy's auction site lists it as a wholly owned FirstEnergy subsidiary, alongside Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison. PUCO's chart lists it as The Illuminating Company.

Which counties does The Illuminating Company serve?

Its tariff defines the territory as the part of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, Summit and Trumbull counties that its distribution system serves. Ohio Edison's tariff lists most of the same counties, so your bill, not your county, tells you which FirstEnergy utility serves you.

How does the Illuminating Company's rate compare with other FirstEnergy utilities?

The Illuminating Company's rate is 0.17¢ per kWh above Ohio Edison's and 0.02¢ per kWh below Toledo Edison's. Each comparison uses the periods PUCO's chart states, and each utility has its own tariff, territory and riders, so use the rate for your own utility.

Does The Illuminating Company still deliver my power if I choose a supplier?

Yes. A new supplier changes who provides the supply portion only. The Illuminating Company still delivers your power, reads your meter and restores outages, and it keeps billing you for delivery. FirstEnergy's budget plan amount leaves out a supplier's charges, so ask the supplier how it bills before you enroll.

Sources

Ohio Energy Savings compares plans. Suppliers pay us a commission when a household enrolls, and we also charge a service fee; you see the fee terms in your offer. See how we get paid.