COLUMBUS, Ohio - The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from several Ohio utility companies, cementing a victory for the state's electric customers that secures more than $400 million in savings through 2031.

The decision upholds a ruling sought by the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), which had argued that utility customers were paying an unnecessary extra fee. The OCC, which represents residential utility customers, first raised the issue with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in early 2022.

The core of the dispute was a special profit incentive called the "RTO adder," a 50-basis-point charge that utility companies, including AEP, AES Ohio, Duke Energy, and FirstEnergy companies, added to customer bills for transmission investments. The fee was created to encourage utility companies to join a regional transmission organization (RTO) like PJM, which manages the power grid.

The OCC argued the fee did not function as an incentive because Ohio law already requires utilities to participate in an RTO. If participation is mandatory, the OCC reasoned, the extra profit only inflated utility earnings and increased costs for consumers.

In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit agreed with the OCC, affirming FERC's earlier decision to eliminate the charge.

The appeals court ruled that since RTO membership is required by law, the utilities could not justify collecting the extra profit. The charge had previously been described by a former FERC commissioner as "FERC Candy."

The utility companies appealed the Sixth Circuit’s decision to the nation's highest court, but the Supreme Court refused to review the case.

“This is a huge win for Ohio consumers,” said Maureen Willis, Agency Director of the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel. “For too long, utilities have padded their profits with unnecessary charges. Now, hundreds of millions of dollars will stay in the pockets of the people who actually pay the bills.”

The ruling means electric customers will keep the savings over the next six years, with further benefits expected in future years, according to the Consumers Counsel.