AEP looks to FERC to approve full energy competition in Ohio

Ohio utility American Electric Power announced on November 1 that it had submitted filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to urge the regulator to approve the company’s decision to split its generating assets from its transmission and distribution infrastructure.

The filing comes less than a month after the utility first went to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) with the proposal.

“These FERC filings are an important next step in our transition to full competition in Ohio. We have requested approval to transfer ownership of a portion of our Ohio generation-related assets from AEP Ohio into a separate unregulated generation company,” said Nicholas K. Akins, AEP president and chief executive officer.

Akins added that the proposal also requests that assets owned by AEP be transferred to other energy providers that are found in the region’s independent system operator, the PJM Interconnection.

Ohio has been a battleground for some time as utilities and retail energy providers spar over service territories. Since energy deregulation laws were passed, AEP has taken certain cases to court to try to prevent residents from seeking out the best electricity rates and switching away from its services.