Thanks in part to the General Assembly’s mulish inaction and the pro-utility Ohio Supreme Court’s procedural falderal, “submetering” companies are burdening Ohio renters with jaw-dropping bills for electricity and water.
In submetering, according to the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, “a landlord or third-party purchases utility services and resells [them] to consumers using a submeter … Consumers are billed by the submetering company instead of the utility. Submetering companies can earn a profit by charging various fees that utilities cannot.”
In turn, among other incentives for landlords to agree to submetering services, submetering companies may pay a landlord certain additional fees for the exclusive right to serve his or her properties — fees which can be lucrative.
To the extent that submetering companies are regulated in Ohio, it’s to a far lesser degree than the state regulates, say, public utilities…
