Can't a cold tenant get a break?

One Lucas County apartment tenant The Editor knows quite well recently opened her February Toledo Edison bill, which I -- I mean, she -- expected to be around $50 or $60, and was so stunned she immediately suspected the amount due was a typo.

The bill was for $191.15 -- for a small, one-bedroom basement unit that isn't even occupied on weekends. Even in August when this tenant was running central air conditioning, her electricity bill was $42, based on an actual reading.

Granted, the $191.15 amount due was to reconcile previously paid electricity bills for November, December and January which had each been based on "estimated" electric use. But even so, the current amount due, if accurate, meant that the tenant's heating costs had more than doubled her monthly kwh usage each and every month since October.

Curious as to whether this was even possible, considering Northwest Ohio's mild winter season prior to mid-January, the tenant called Toledo Edison. Toledo Edison assured the tenant that in fact the bill was correct, and the customer service representative proceeded to school the tenant on basic arithmetic. The tenant was puzzled, because her question was not at all related to the arithmetic of the matter.

Uhhh, I have the bill right in front of me, and I can see the numbers, and yes, I know how to add.

Oh, Toledo Edison.

But I digress. The point of this post is that in the 17 days since she -- oh, hell with it -- since I called Toledo Edison and requested a re-reading of my meter, I've taken a little time to research what, if anything, an Ohio resident can do about surprisingly high and unexpected heating bills in the winter time.

The first thing I found out, via the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), is that utility companies are supposed to make attempts to resolve customer disputes within 10 days. Psssst, Toledo Edison, are you listening?

The second thing I found out, also via PUCO, is that Ohio utility customers have the right to request up to two meter re-readings per year, at no charge.

PUCO's website also provides information about energy assistance programs here. Note there are several references to "community action agencies" as the administrators of some of the assistance programs. PUCO website visitors are given vague instructions to "contact your local community action agency," but there is no contact information on the PUCO site.

To identify your local community action agency, and to obtain contact information for agencies, visit the Ohio Department of Development's website here and click on your county's name as shown on the map of Ohio.

Meanwhile, I'll be sitting here shivering with my thermostat set at 64 degrees. Because apparently 68 degrees is indulgent and expensive.