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Understanding Your Ohio Electric Bill: An Annotated Sample Decoder
Understanding your Ohio electric bill comes down to a few lines: your usage, the supply charge, the delivery charge, the price to compare and the supplier name. The decoder below marks each one on an invented sample bill for eight Ohio utilities and says where to look on a real bill.
Updated
How does the sample bill decoder work?
Choose your utility and the decoder opens a sample bill made up for teaching. Each numbered marker jumps to a note that says where to look on a real bill and what the line means.
Sample Valley Light & Power
SAMPLE - not a real bill
Billing period1
- Dates covered
- Sample date
Account number, amount due and due date2
- Customer
- Pat Sample
- Service address
- 123 Sample Street, Anytown, OH
- Account number
- 99-0000-0000
- Amount due
- $68.88
- Due date
- Sample date
Messages3
- Notes about your account
- Printed here
- Price to compare
- Your utility's number prints here (not shown in this sample)
Price to Compare (definition box)4
- What the box says
- A short definition in the utility's own words
Account summary5
- Previous balance
- $22.22
- Payments received
- -$22.22
- Current charges
- $68.88
- Total amount due
- $68.88
Usage information6
- Electricity used
- 1,000 kWh
- Reading type
- Actual
Charges
Charges from an alternate supplier9
- Supplier name
- Sample Supplier Co. (only if you chose one)
- Supplier charges
- Listed in this section
Usage history10
- Bar graph
- 13 months of usage (not drawn in this sample)
- Also shown
- Average daily use and temperature
SAMPLE - not a real bill. Invented company, customer, account number and amounts. Not a utility's bill and not affiliated with any utility.
How this sample was built
Notes for the invented FirstEnergy sample
Every numbered marker on the sample links to its note here. The notes say where to look on a real bill and which source backs each one.
1Billing period
Where to look: Section A on FirstEnergy's Ohio Edison sample bill.
The span of days your current charges cover. FirstEnergy describes it as the time period for which your current charges were calculated. Ohio's billing rule also requires the dates of the service period.
Sources: FirstEnergy: Ohio Edison bill (sample-bill sections); Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-10-22: electric utility customer billing · Show this on the sample
2Account number, amount due and due date
Where to look: Section C on FirstEnergy's sample bill.
Your account number identifies your service. FirstEnergy's choice page says the bill shows the customer number a supplier needs to enroll you. Ohio's billing rule sets the residential due date no sooner than 21 days after the postmark.
Sources: FirstEnergy: Ohio Edison bill (sample-bill sections); FirstEnergy: Ohio electric choice (price to compare); Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-10-22: electric utility customer billing · Show this on the sample
3Messages and the price to compare
Where to look: Section D on FirstEnergy's sample bill. FirstEnergy's page says you will find your price to compare there.
The Messages box carries notes about your account. The price to compare is the number to hold an offer against. Ohio's billing rule requires a price-to-compare notice on residential electric bills.
Sources: FirstEnergy: Ohio Edison bill (sample-bill sections); FirstEnergy: Toledo Edison bill (sample-bill sections); FirstEnergy: Illuminating Company bill (sample-bill sections); Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-10-22: electric utility customer billing; Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-10-33: consolidated electric billing · Show this on the sample
4Price to Compare definition
Where to look: Section E on FirstEnergy's sample bill.
FirstEnergy defines it as the utility's price per kWh for bypassable generation and transmission. FirstEnergy's choice page says it is the bypassable generation and transmission related component divided by the kilowatt-hours used in the month. PUCO's glossary words it as the price per kWh for generation service, so read FirstEnergy's wording as FirstEnergy's own.
Sources: FirstEnergy: Ohio Edison bill (sample-bill sections); FirstEnergy: Ohio bill terms and definitions; FirstEnergy: Ohio electric choice (price to compare); PUCO: Understanding your electric bill (definitions) · Show this on the sample
5Account summary
Where to look: Section F on FirstEnergy's sample bill.
Your previous balance, payments and current charges, ending in the total you owe. Ohio's billing rule requires unpaid amounts, credits and the total amount due.
Sources: FirstEnergy: Ohio Edison bill (sample-bill sections); Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-10-22: electric utility customer billing · Show this on the sample
6Usage information
Where to look: Section G on FirstEnergy's sample bill.
How much electricity you used in the billing period, counted in kilowatt-hours (kWh), and whether the reading was actual or estimated. PUCO defines an estimated reading as one where the utility did not read your meter and worked out your usage from prior use and the season.
Sources: FirstEnergy: Ohio Edison bill (sample-bill sections); PUCO: Understanding your electric bill (definitions) · Show this on the sample
7Supply charge
Where to look: Section H, Charges. FirstEnergy's term for it is the Bypassable Generation and Transmission Related Component.
FirstEnergy's terms page defines it as charges for purchasing power and delivering it through the transmission system, and says they are avoided when you switch to a certified retail electric service provider. PUCO's glossary defines a generation charge, also called a supply charge, as charges tied to the production of electricity.
Sources: FirstEnergy: Ohio bill terms and definitions; FirstEnergy: Ohio Edison bill (sample-bill sections); PUCO: Understanding your electric bill (definitions) · Show this on the sample
8Delivery charge
Where to look: Section H, Charges. Look for the Distribution Related Component and the Customer Charge.
FirstEnergy's terms page defines the distribution related component as the charge for moving electricity over distribution lines to a service location, and the customer charge as a monthly charge that offsets billing, meter reading, equipment and service line costs. FirstEnergy's choice page says your utility keeps delivering your electricity if you choose a supplier.
Sources: FirstEnergy: Ohio bill terms and definitions; FirstEnergy: Ohio electric choice (price to compare) · Show this on the sample
9Charges from an alternate supplier
Where to look: Section I on FirstEnergy's sample bill.
FirstEnergy's page says that if you choose another supplier, its charges appear in this section. Check that the name matches the company you signed with.
Sources: FirstEnergy: Ohio Edison bill (sample-bill sections); FirstEnergy: Toledo Edison bill (sample-bill sections); FirstEnergy: Illuminating Company bill (sample-bill sections) · Show this on the sample
10Usage history
Where to look: Section K on FirstEnergy's sample bill.
FirstEnergy says this bar graph shows your usage over the past 13 months, with average daily and monthly use, average daily temperature and the days in the billing period. Ohio's billing rule requires your usage for each of the last twelve months, with a total and an average.
Sources: FirstEnergy: Ohio Edison bill (sample-bill sections); Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-10-22: electric utility customer billing · Show this on the sample
The sample is invented. The company, customer, account number and every amount are made up, and no logo or real bill appears. It shows no rate either: where your bill prints a price to compare, the sample says your utility's number prints there.
Each note names its sources and credits a utility's own wording to that utility. Every note is also listed under the sample, so it works with JavaScript off.
How do you start understanding an Ohio electric bill?
Start with five lines: usage, supply charge, delivery charge, price to compare and supplier name. PUCO's glossary defines the supply charge, also called the generation charge, as the charges for producing electricity.
- Usage is the kilowatt-hours (kWh) you used in the billing period.
- Supply charge is the electricity itself. A supplier's offer prices this part.
- Delivery charge pays for the local poles and wires. Your utility keeps billing it whichever supplier you use.
- Price to compare is the utility's default supply price per kWh, printed so you can set an offer beside it.
- Supplier name tells you who sells you the electricity when it is not your utility.
Ohio's billing rules require the price to compare on residential electric bills: OAC 4901:1-10-22 for utility-only bills and OAC 4901:1-10-33 when the bill carries a supplier's charges.
What does an Ohio Edison sample bill show?
FirstEnergy's Ohio Edison sample-bill page labels fifteen sections, A to O. Section D, Messages, is where FirstEnergy says you will find your price to compare, and section I lists charges from an alternate supplier. Its Toledo Edison and Illuminating Company pages list the same sections.
That page shows a last-modified date of April 14, 2020, so your bill may differ. The utilities also describe the price to compare differently.
| Utility | Where its own page puts it | What its own page says about the number |
|---|---|---|
| FirstEnergy | In the Messages section (section D) | The price per kWh for bypassable generation and transmission, worked out for the month |
| AEP Ohio | On the bill, below the total amount due | AEP Ohio's price per kWh for the same usage that appears on your bill |
| AES Ohio | In the price-to-compare message | Shown for one month; AES Ohio says to weigh 12 months of usage and charges |
| Duke Energy Ohio | The pages we read do not say | Based on your own annual usage, so it may be higher or lower than Duke's published averages |
PUCO's glossary defines the price to compare as the utility's price per kWh for generation service, and FirstEnergy's wording adds transmission. Use the figure on your own bill, and match it to the dates on the Apples to Apples chart.
What do the gas samples show that the electric ones do not?
Gas bills add a unit and a tax line. Columbia Gas of Ohio bills in Ccf, which is 100 cubic feet. Enbridge Gas Ohio shows use in Mcf, which is 1,000 cubic feet.
Both utilities name a supplier on a default bill. Their pages say customers on the Standard Choice Offer (SCO), the default gas rate, see a supplier's name without choosing one.
Ohio's gas billing rule, OAC 4901:1-13-11, requires a price-to-compare statement on residential bills from a gas company with a choice program. It points to the SCO, or to the gas cost recovery rate where that applies. PUCO's gas glossary adds that county sales tax is not in a supplier's total rate.
Where does a supplier's name show on each sample bill?
If you choose a supplier, your utility still delivers your power or gas and bills for delivery. Where the supplier's name shows depends on the utility.
- FirstEnergy: section I, charges from an alternate supplier.
- AEP Ohio: a line item showing your new generation provider.
- AES Ohio: the service message center, which offers supplier information.
- Duke Energy Ohio: the pages we read do not say. If a supplier bills separately, Ohio's rule requires its name on the Duke bill.
- Columbia Gas of Ohio: the supplier portion, where Columbia lists the supplier's gas charges.
- Enbridge Gas Ohio: the Current Charges section, with the rate plan below the name.
Check that the name matches the company you signed with. An offer is worth taking only after you add any monthly fee and read what happens when the term ends. Staying on the default is fair when no offer beats it after fees.
The price to compare lookup shows the current default rate for a ZIP code, and the electric bill calculator turns kilowatt-hours into a supply cost. Our Ohio energy choice guide explains the program.
When can your real bill differ from the sample?
Your real bill can differ in layout, line names and order, and some pages we read carry old dates. Each note links to its sources.
If your bill has a line the sample does not show, check your utility's own bill guide in the sources, or call the number on your bill. Utilities file new bill formats with PUCO for approval.
Frequently asked questions
Is the sample bill a copy of a real customer's bill?
No. Every sample is invented: the company, customer, account number and amounts are made up, and each one carries a sample label. We show no logos and no images of real bills. The notes draw on public pages from PUCO, the Ohio Administrative Code and each utility.
Why does the sample leave out the price to compare number?
A made-up number could be mistaken for a real rate. So the sample says your utility's figure prints there. Read the real one on your own bill, then check the dates on PUCO's Apples to Apples chart. The notes say where each utility's own page puts it.
Why do the six sample bills look different from each other?
Each utility designs its own bill. Ohio's billing rules set what a bill must show, such as usage, the due date and the price-to-compare notice, and utilities file new bill formats with PUCO for approval. Where a utility's page described its bill, the sample follows its sections. Where it did not, the note says so.
What if my bill has a line the sample does not show?
Open your utility's own bill guide, linked in the sources, or call the number on your bill. Ohio's billing rule says bills tell you to call or write the utility first with a question or complaint, then give PUCO's contact details if the problem stays unresolved. Ask what the line means before you pay or switch.
Does the decoder remember which utility I pick?
Our site uses your pick only to show the sample and does not save it to a database or an account. The choice sits in the page address, so your browser history keeps it. The decoder has no sign-in and never asks for a bill, an account number or an address.
Can I decode a Duke Energy Ohio or CenterPoint gas bill here?
No. The decoder has no sample for those two gas bills. Ohio's gas billing rule covers every gas company with a choice program, so those bills also carry a price-to-compare statement. Use the Columbia Gas and Enbridge Gas Ohio samples as a guide, and read your utility's own bill page.
Sources
- PUCO: Understanding your electric bill (definitions), read
- PUCO: Understanding your natural gas bill (definitions), read
- Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-10-22: electric utility customer billing, read
- Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-10-33: consolidated electric billing, read
- Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-13-11: gas company customer billing, read
- FirstEnergy: Ohio Edison bill (sample-bill sections), read
- FirstEnergy: Toledo Edison bill (sample-bill sections), read
- FirstEnergy: Illuminating Company bill (sample-bill sections), read
- FirstEnergy: Ohio bill terms and definitions, read
- FirstEnergy: Ohio electric choice (price to compare), read
- AEP Ohio: residential bill walkthrough (PDF), read
- AEP Ohio: choice for residential customers, read
- AES Ohio: your residential bill, read
- Energy Choice Ohio: AES Ohio electric chart, read
- Duke Energy Ohio: price to compare (archived copy, July 29, 2026), read
- Duke Energy Ohio: electric choice FAQ (archived copy, September 9, 2025), read
- Columbia Gas of Ohio: understanding your bill, read
- Columbia Gas of Ohio: Standard Choice Offer, read
- Enbridge Gas Ohio: understand my bill, read
- Enbridge Gas Ohio: energy choice, read
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