Beginning in October, AEP Ohio customers will begin seeing a new name for the electric utility on their bills and other communications – and new bills intended to provide them with more information.
AEP Ohio is rebranding to the Ohio Power Company, according to a Sept. 24 media release from the power company. Customers will start seeing the Ohio Power Company on the company's website, bills, and on other communications, and materials beginning on Oct. 1, according to the media release.
The company is making the name change because it brings "greater visibility" to the company's longstanding legal name, the company said in the announcement.
"The name 'Ohio Power Company' underscores our longstanding commitment to Ohio and the people and places that
depend on us every day," Marc Reitter, president of the Ohio Power Company, said in the release. "Our 1,400 employees live and work in the communities they call home – keeping the lights on, responding when severe weather strikes and serving their neighbors with their time and talents."
The name change will not affect customers’ electric service, account information, their rates, or how they contact the company, according to the announcement. Customers will not need to take any action and can continue using the company’s mobile app. The company’s website will change toOhioPowerCo.com, and visitors to the former AEP Ohio website will be automatically redirected to the new site.
In addition to the name change, AEP Ohio will begin providing customers with what it says will be "clearer information" about their bills and service costs. Beginning in October, customers will receive a "new, transparent, redesigned" monthly electric bill that was approved earlier this year by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, according to the release. The change will help customers better understand their electric bill, including their generation supplier and how distribution, transmission, and generation costs contribute to their entire bill, the company said.
"This new format will make it easier for customers to see and understand the charges included in an electric bill in Ohio, identify their generation supplier and understand how distribution, transmission and generation costs contribute to their total bill," the release states. "It also will provide monthly energy-use information to help customers make more informed decisions about their electricity use."
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: AEP Ohio changes name to Ohio Power Company, launching billing change
