Members' Frequently Asked Questions

Got questions? We’ve got answers. Our FAQ section covers common topics like billing, outages, capital credits, service requests, and more—so you can quickly find the information you need. We're here to help make your experience with Midwest Electric simple and convenient.

Members' Frequently Asked Questions

You asked; we answered

Capital Credits

Customer Service

A blinking red light on your meter is a normal operation indicating that the meter is attempting to establish a communication connection with our metering system. This happens periodically. Once it establishes a connection, the red light should go away. If it continues blinking for multiple days, our system would typically alert us that the meter is having a communication error.

The “Electricity Aggregation” issue is for municipalities that seek to combine, or aggregate, all of their electric users, then use that “group buying power” to hopefully negotiate lower electric rates with another supplier.

Ohio’s electric cooperatives, such as Midwest Electric, do not participate in that program for several reasons. First, we already aggregate our customers’ loads. In fact, we’ve been doing so since 1936; that’s what a cooperative is all about.

Second, our members would not benefit from this program. The electric system can be divided into three parts: Generation, Transmission, and Distribution. We are a Distribution provider – from the substation to your home. And these Aggregation programs would not change who your Distribution provider is. You will still receive Distribution service from us. Aggregation programs only cover the Generation and Transmission part of your power bill. Midwest Electric members receive their power generation from Buckeye Power, which is owned by Ohio's electric cooperatives. Buckeye Power rates are already lower than any aggregation offers we have seen. As a cooperative member, you own part of Buckeye Power (your power generation provider), which helps keep your rates affordable.

Click here to watch a video that breaks down this subject matter.

We don’t print the member number (or member number) on the electric bill. If you’re asking about the trustee election and need your member number to complete your ballot, you should see it printed in the Instructions section of the voting materials you received. Also, if you call our office, we can provide your member number, 419-394-4110.

Multiple independent studies have shown smart meters are safe – and much safer than cell phones, laptops, microwave ovens and other common household items. This page on our website has links to various research.

The new meters do not cause a person’s electric bill to increase. The old electromechanical meters could become slow over time, and the new meters are more accurate. But they do not record more than what is actually used in the home.

We do not charge people more during peak periods. We have a flat electric rate that is the same rate regardless of what day or what time of day you use electricity.

Meters are not surveillance vehicles. We do not know anything about what you are doing inside your home. The electric meter simply records how much electricity is being used. It doesn’t know how many people are home. It doesn’t know who is home. It doesn’t know what appliances are using the electricity.

The "Roundup" is our Community Connection Fund. It’s a voluntary program that rounds up your electric bill to the next dollar, and the extra change goes into this fund. You can opt out at any time.

A volunteer board meets every three months to review requests from groups like libraries, senior centers, food pantries, and fire departments. All rounded-up funds go to these causes with no fees taken. You can find the latest recipients in the News section of our website.

Your donations are tax-deductible, and your December electric bill will show your total contributions for the year.

Yes, we do offer a level billing, which we call the Average Billing Plan. To participate, you must be a residential customer with 12 months of electric use history, and your account must be paid in full.

To sign up, call 419-394-4110 or email, info@midwestrec.com for an application form. Your monthly average bill will be calculated each month based on your current month's usage plus the past eleven months of electric usage. There is not a settle up month for the average billing program. You may change your billing to actual at any time; however, any balance due is payable when you choose to go off average billing. If you have additional questions, please contact our office.

Regrettably, some Midwest Electric members may be removed from our Average Billing program. Under these situations, customers will be removed from Average Billing and placed on standard billing:

If the customer receives two disconnect notices in a 12-month period (notices printed on their monthly electric bill).
If the customer has two returned checks in a 12-month period (for insufficient funds).
If the account is removed from Average Billing and placed on standard billing, any balances accumulated to that point will become due immediately.

Yes, we offer rebates on Central Air-Conditioning units, air-source heat pumps, and geothermal units. Plus, we also have a reduced electric rate for Midwest Electric members who have a heat pump or geothermal, and an electric water heater with our free radio-control switch to help us lower our wholesale power costs. The reduced rate is about 10% lower than our standard residential rate.

Products and Services

That depends on what you mean. We used to be a partner from the standpoint of power generation, as we shared ownership of Cardinal Power Plant (located in Brilliant, OH). However, we now own Cardinal entirely and along with our statewide organization, Ohio's Electric Cooperatives, have full operational independence and management of the plant.

If you're referring to transmission, we do purchase some transmission services from AEP. This is why we sometimes have outages that are out of our control -- those highly expensive, high-voltage transmission lines owned by AEP feed some of our local distribution lines.

When someone is building a new home or business, there are certain situations in which they may be able to choose a different nearby power company. However, once the service has been set up, it is unlikely that a change can be made. The first step would be to contact AES to inquire if they would permit a switch. Then provide us with more details about the location, as there may be costs associated with extending our lines to serve that area.

If you did not see the answer to your question, please send your question to us and we will post it as soon as we can. Thank you!