Guest speaker will be Andrew Tinkham from Ohio Consumers’ Counsel

We will meet at Linardos Villa, Tuesday February 7th, 2017. Our guest speaker will be from the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, Andrew Tinkham.

Role and Overview

The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) is the statewide legal representative for Ohio’s residential consumers in matters related to their investor-owned electric, natural gas, telephone, and water services. Led by Consumers’ Counsel Bruce Weston, the agency advocates for consumers in proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), federal regulatory agencies, appellate courts, and the Ohio General Assembly. The agency also monitors public utilities’ compliance with regulatory standards for consumer protection. The OCC also educates consumers about utility issues that affect their bills and quality of service.

The Consumers’ Counsel is selected by a nine-member, bipartisan governing board representing family farmers, organized labor, and residential consumers. Each governing board member is appointed by the Ohio Attorney General. The OCC has approximately 35 employees and an operating budget of $5.6 million. 

Since the agency’s inception in 1976, the agency has helped to save Ohio utility customers billions of dollars in avoided utility charges, participated to create payment assistance programs for low-income customers, and worked to safeguard consumer protections. The agency’s staff has educated thousands of utility customers about choices available to them in a changing industry and ways to save money on their utility bills.