Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

What Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel does

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) is an independent state government agency, established in 1976 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that serves as the statutory residential utility consumer advocate for Ohio's 4.5 million residential utility consumers. OCC intervenes in proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Ohio Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court on rate cases, transmission charges, consumer protections, and regulatory reform. The agency also engages in legislative advocacy, consumer education, and outreach through fact sheets, newsletters, a public Subsidy Scorecard, and a Speakers Bureau.

OCC is governed by a nine-member board representing family farmers, labor, and residential consumers, and is led by Consumers' Counsel Maureen Willis with a staff of approximately 45 employees. Its products and services are non-commercial advocacy outputs: regulatory filings and testimony, consumer alerts on proposed rate increases, educational fact sheets, the PIPP Plus / HEAP utility-assistance program coordination, and an interactive Subsidy Scorecard tracking $15B+ in above-market utility subsidies since 2000. There is no proprietary technology platform or AI/ML component; OCC's competitive advantage rests on deep regulatory expertise accumulated over nearly 50 years.

OCC is funded by assessments on Ohio's regulated utilities — residential consumers paid 2.68 cents per $100 in utility bills to fund OCC in FY25, yielding an operating budget of $6.3M, with proposed budgets rising to $6.9M (FY26) and $7.2M (FY27). The agency's go-to-market is community-led: it drives consumer participation in PUCO hearings, publishes alerts to encourage public comment on rate cases (AES Ohio, Duke, FirstEnergy, Enbridge Gas Ohio), and engages media through press releases. Measured impact includes $977M in consumer savings from 2019–2024 advocacy, $445M from a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory ending the "RTO adder," and $280M in restitution from the FirstEnergy HB6 settlement, implying roughly $29 in consumer savings for every $1 of agency budget.

Name

Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

Legal name

Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

Website

https://occ.ohio.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel is an independent Ohio state agency, founded in 1976, that represents Ohio's 4.5 million residential utility consumers before PUCO, FERC, and state/federal courts to advocate for fair rates and consumer protections.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Utility Assessment Funding: OCC is funded by assessments on utilities, not general revenue. Consumers paid 2.68 cents per $100 in utility bills through utility assessments to fund OCC for FY25.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

OCC is the independent state agency that advocates on behalf of Ohio's 4.5 million residential utility consumers in proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Ohio Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Ohio General Assembly. It intervenes in utility rate cases, files regulatory comments and legal briefs, issues consumer alerts, runs the Subsidy Scorecard data tool, and connects consumers with utility bill-assistance programs.

Product overview

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) is a state government agency that serves as the residential utility consumer advocate for Ohio's 4.5 million residential utility consumers. OCC is not a technology product company but rather provides advocacy services, educational resources, and consumer assistance programs. The organization offers Consumer Alerts on rate increases and utility issues, Utility Assistance Programs including PIPP Plus and HEAP, Consumer Fact Sheets and Publications, Legislative Testimony and Advocacy representation before PUCO, FERC, and courts, a Subsidy Scorecard tracking utility subsidies, OCC Newsletters, State and Federal Regulatory Filings, and a Speakers Bureau. These services collectively work to help Ohioans with electric, natural gas, telephone, and water utility issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consumer Alerts

Quantifiable outcome

• $977 million in consumer savings from 2019-2024 advocacy at FERC and PUCO
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Texas Office of Public Utility Counsel: Texas state agency that represents residential and small-commercial utility interests in contested cases before the PUC, with a comparable statutory advocacy function.
• Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate: Independent Pennsylvania state agency representing residential utility consumers in rate and policy proceedings, with a comparable statutory mission, litigation focus, and funding model.
• Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel: Connecticut's independent consumer advocate representing utility ratepayers before PURA and courts, with overlapping scope across electric, gas, water, and telecommunications.
• New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel: New Jersey state office that represents ratepayers in utility proceedings before the Board of Public Utilities, offering a near-analogous advocacy and regulatory intervention model.
• Maryland Office of People's Counsel: Independent Maryland state agency representing residential utility consumers before the Public Service Commission and courts on rates, service quality, and consumer protection, structurally identical to OCC's mandate in Ohio.
• Illinois Citizens Utility Board: Independent Illinois state agency created by statute to represent residential and small-business utility consumers, with a parallel advocacy, education, and intervention role.
• New Hampshire Consumer Advocate: New Hampshire's independent consumer advocate representing residential utility customers before the PUC, with a similar small-staff, high-impact advocacy structure.
• Florida Office of Public Counsel: Florida's independent state agency representing utility consumers before the Public Service Commission, structurally parallel to OCC across electric, gas, water, and telecom dockets.

Broad incumbents

• California Public Utilities Commission - Office of Ratepayer Advocacy: California's primary state utility regulator; while not solely a consumer advocate, it incorporates ratepayer advocacy functions and intervenes broadly in utility proceedings analogous to OCC's PUCO interventions.
• Massachusetts Attorney General - Energy and Environmental Division: State-level consumer protection function for utility matters in Massachusetts, with broader AG enforcement scope but overlapping role in rate cases, energy affordability, and consumer advocacy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@PUCOhio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ohio-consumers-counsel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel