TOLEDO, Ohio — June 1 marks the first day Toledo Edison's electricity rates rise.
Multiple residents in west Toledo said they have seen the prices rise before, but never this much, especially not in the summer.
"I use probably 50 percent more in the summer with the air conditioner and the longer days," said Bill Roan, a Toledo Edison customer.
Roan said he has lived in west Toledo for 16 years and the summer bill is never great.
But now that prices may rise by nearly 47 percent, he plans to shop around.
"If it goes up a lot I will consider changing providers," said Roan.
Many of the residents in west Toledo agree that the summer was not the ideal time for the change.
"Normally our electric bill in the summer with all the air conditioning is around 100 dollars so if it's going to go up 40-50 percent, that's a big bite in our budget," said Maury Collins, another Toledo Edison customer.
Collins said he'll be cracking a window this summer.
"The fact that it's going to go up its going to impact people like me on fixed income and I don't understand why they are doing this," said Collins.
After speaking with representatives of the First Energy Electric Company, they said not everyone will be impacted.
"So, for our customers who choose not to shop Toledo Edison enters into a competitive bidding process where we secure electricity from a supplier on behalf of our customers who choose not to shop on their own," said Lauren Siburkis, a Toledo Edison spokesperson.
Siburkis said the prices are rising because there's a high demand for natural gas, which she says typically leads to an increase for the supply of electricity.
"We do not set the prices for the energy supply, and we do not profit from this part of the bill that's why we encourage our customers to take control of their bill and explore whatever options are out there," said Siburkis.
She said the average household consumer uses 750 kilowatt hours a month. And now, if they are not shopping around, they could pay 30 to 60 dollars more.
Siburkis said you can compare prices on the Apple to Apples website, and you can check if your supplier is set to default on your bill.
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