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PUC Adopt Utility’s Proposed Additional Default Service Auction
On September 30, 2026 the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio issued an order approving the application of The Dayton Power and Light Company d/b/a AES Ohio without modification to continue its competitive bid process to procure standard service offer supply.
“By this Order the Commission approves AES Ohio’s application to continue its CBP, as stated in the order . It is, further noted that nothing in this Entry should be construed to extend the term of ESP IV beyond May 31, 2027.”
As background, on August 11, 2026, AES Ohio filed an application for authority to continue its CPB to procure SSO supply until it transitions to an MRO under R.C. 4928.141. The Company explains that, when approved, ESP IV was intended to end in August 2026. ESP IV Case, Opinion and Order (Aug. 9, 2023). However, the HB 15 amendments to R.C. 4928.141 also included a provision extending approved ESPs through the final SSO auction delivery period approved by the Commission under the plan as of August 14, 2025. R.C. 4928.141(A)(2). Therefore, under the Commission’s March 19, 2025 Entry and R.C. 4928.141, ESP IV was extended up to May 31, 2027, when 100 percent of the Company’s SSO supply would be procured.
Through the application, AES Ohio seeks to maintain the benefits of laddered and staggered auction products throughout ESP IV and moving forward. Thus, the Company requests authority to hold an auction in October, at which time AES Ohio would procure 15 tranches of a 12-month product and 16 tranches of a 24-month product with power flow commencing on June 1, 2027. AES Ohio explains that the Company files a Standard Offer Rate, through which revenue is collected from customers to pay the suppliers who win the SSO auctions by agreeing to provide generation service to AES Ohio’s SSO customers at the lowest, competitively bid price. The Company submits that, by holding multiple auctions per year and offering varied-length products, as proposed in the application, AES Ohio’s customers will continue to benefit from a blended Standard Offer Rate. The Company states that, if the application is not granted, AES Ohio will need to procure 63 percent of its SSO supply for the 2027/2028 delivery year next spring under its anticipated MRO; AES Ohio requests that the Commission act to mitigate the related risk to customers by granting the application and authorizing the Company to hold an auction this fall to procure SSO supply for the 2027/2028 delivery year.
