A growing number of Ohio families are losing access to a basic necessity: electricity.
New state data shows hundreds of thousands of households were disconnected for nonpayment from June 2025 through May 2026, underscoring how rising utility costs can force everyday people into impossible financial decisions.
For many residents, keeping the lights on is becoming another high-stakes expense in a household budget already strained by food, fuel, and medical bills, Statehouse News Bureau reported.
Here's what to know
According to annual filings submitted to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio by the state's six regulated electric utilities, 344,589 households lost electric service for unpaid bills from June 2025 through May 2026.
Across the customers served by AEP Ohio Power, AES Ohio, Duke Energy, CEI, Ohio Edison, and Toledo Edison, that total comes to about 7.7%.
"We're in an affordability crisis. People are paying more and more for commodities like groceries and gasoline, and they're having to make choices about, should I pay my utility bill or should I pay my medical bill?" Ohio Consumers' Counsel Maureen Willis warned.
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"So yes, affordability is a really big concern. And I think it's reflected in the disconnections, the rising disconnection rates," she added.
Willis also pointed to a utility practice that can make shutoffs easier to carry out: remote disconnections made possible by newer grid technology.
More background
Some utility companies can disconnect customers without sending a worker to the property.
"With new distribution called Grid Smart, they're able to shut off the consumer remotely," Willis explained. "It used to be you'd have to send a meter reader out, and that took time, and that was expensive."
For households already struggling, a faster shutoff can mean losing refrigeration, air conditioning, power for medical equipment, or even the ability to charge phones and stay connected to work and school.
Willis also criticized the fees that can accompany service restoration, especially if the process no longer requires an in-person visit.
She noted that reconnections can be done remotely too, so "if you can do it with the flick of a switch and you're not sending a meter reader out, you really shouldn't have a disconnection charge or a reconnection charge of $40 or $50."
Those charges are capped at $36 in winter for electric and natural gas customers, but they can still add to the burden for households already behind on their bills.
What's being done?
The utilities said they offer programs to help customers prevent service interruptions.
AES Ohio said it "works to prevent service disconnections through flexible payment plans and assistance programs, in compliance with PUCO regulations." The company also directed customers to the Gift of Power program, PIPP, and HEAP.
AEP maintained that shutting off service is "always a last resort" and added that it does not disconnect customers during extreme weather.
At the same time, the company defended collections by arguing that unpaid bills can increase costs for others if the debt is passed on to paying customers.
State and utility-run programs may not solve the larger affordability problem, but they can help some families avoid the serious financial and health consequences that come with losing power.
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