Dover mayor: Locally owned power plant a cost-saver for residents
DOVER – The city’s mayor says the city’s power plant is saving its residents money on their electric bills. Shane Gunnoe says having a city-owned electricity supplier has kept rates down despite inflation.
“Due to increased plant performance and efficiency, the city of Dover’s residential customers actually have seen their average bills drop 2.5 percent or about $42 a year since 2022. This is in contrast to other electric utilities, which have seen large increases during that time.”
Gunnoe says Dover’s residential rate is 30 percent lower that AEP’s, which is a difference of about $700 per year for an average customer. The demand for electricity is increasing across the state, and there is growing concern about the regional grid system’s capacity to meet future power needs.
“[A report from the Ohio Business Roundtable] shows without significant change in course the state could expect and electricity shortfall beginning just a few years,” Gunnoe said.
Gunnoe says inflation is impacting the power plant, though. He says officials are monitoring the rising costs of insurance, coal and other materials.