COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohioans have a choice in who supplies their electricity, but that freedom can help or hurt your wallet depending on the plan you pick.

“Someone who is organized can save money by picking a marketer,” Ohio Consumers’ Counsel spokesman Jon Blackwood said. “But I have talked to people who are paying double what the standard offer is.”

Here is everything you need to know.

What am I choosing?

You can’t choose your utility company. Ohioans are assigned to AEP Ohio, Duke Energy or FirstEnergy based on where they live.

These utilities maintain the poles, wires and substations that deliver power to your home, and you’d still call them if your electricity goes out — no matter which supplier you pick.

What is optional is your supplier: the company that generates the electricity your utility delivers. That’s the part of your bill you can shop for.

What are my options?

Ohioans have three options for their energy.

The first is the standard service offer for electricity, or the standard choice offer for those with natural gas.

Utilities hold auctions twice a year where different generators bid to supply power at the lowest price. These are sold in tranches, groups of customers, because no single generator can serve an entire territory.

“You don’t have to worry about anything on the standard offer,” Blackwood said. “You’re automatically covered.”

The second option is government aggregation. In this setup, a city or group of communities join together to buy energy in bulk.

They put the contract out to bid and choose a supplier for everyone in the group. These programs require voter approval, and they are opt-out, meaning you’re automatically enrolled unless you decide to leave.

The third option is to shop for a generator yourself.

You compare different rates and plans and pick the one that fits your budget or priorities. For example, you can filter your results by the percentage of power you want to come from renewable energy.

This gives you more control, but Blackwood said it also means you need to carefully comb through the details.

How do I pick a supplier?

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has a website — energychoice.ohio.gov — where you can compare the rates and plans available in your area.

It’s the safest place to start because everything listed there is from a PUCO-certified supplier.

But sales reps may approach you in stores with gift-card deals or even knock on your door.

“We don’t ever recommend anybody sign up with a marketer who is standing on your porch,” Blackwood said. “Just today, we saw two marketers get fined by the PUCO for deceptive practices. There have been a lot of marketers caught lying.”

Before entering into any contract, compare the offer with what other companies are charging.

And make sure to read the fine print, Ohio State professor Noah Dormady said. “They can have all sorts of crazy contract details.”

Some suppliers advertise “zero cents per kilowatt-hour,” but then charge a flat monthly fee as long as you stay under a certain usage cap.

Dormady said most of those offers cost more than sticking with your current rate.

“There’s nothing overtly fraudulent about it,” he said. But they’re usually not a good deal.

Blackwood said other plans might advertise a low price per kilowatt-hour, but then add a monthly fee that wipes out any savings.

He also warned about early-termination fees. If you sign a contract and the rate goes up, getting out of that contract could cost $100 or more.

Why saving money takes vigilance

If you choose a supplier, your contract will likely auto-renew.

“The worst thing to do is to sign up with a marketer and forget it,” Blackwood said.

A 2024 study Dormady co-authored found that 72% of the retail rates people signed up for cost more than the standard offer.

That’s why he titled the paper “Finding a Black Cat in a Coal Seller.”

“Unless you really know what you’re doing and are hyper-vigilant about checking PUCO’s website,” Dormady said, “you’re probably paying more.”