Power Plants in Ohio: Who Owns, Runs and Regulates Them

Ohio generates electricity from coal, natural gas, nuclear fuel, wind, sunlight and moving water, and the offices behind those stations are not all alike. Some are municipal light plants run by a city. Others are cooperative stations, plants inside factories, or solar fields owned by utility groups. This page explains which kind of facility you are dealing with and who to call about it.

The listings range from the Collinwood Power Plant on Aspinwall Avenue in Cleveland to Gavin Power in Cheshire, Gallia County, on the Ohio River. Between them sit city-owned plants, solar arrays, wind projects and even a dairy digester near Montpelier that turns manure into power. A listing marks a place on the map. It is not always a public counter, and many sites have no front desk at all.

How Ohio Splits Oversight Between PUCO, the Power Siting Board and Ohio EPA

Three state bodies matter most. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) regulates the investor-owned electric companies, including rates, service quality and consumer complaints. The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) decides whether major generating facilities may be built, and the PUCO chairperson also chairs that board. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency issues the air and water permits a plant needs to operate.

Siting rules sit in Chapter 4906 of the Ohio Revised Code. Generating facilities of 50 megawatts or more need a certificate from the board before construction begins. Smaller projects face a lighter review, but they still need local zoning approval and the right Ohio EPA permits. Since Senate Bill 52 took effect in 2021, county commissioners can also keep large wind and solar projects out of parts of a county, and voters can force a referendum on that decision.

Ohio also opened electricity supply to competition. A restructuring law passed in 1999 pushed the big utilities to separate their generating plants from the wires business, and retail choice began in 2001. That is why the company that owns a plant often differs from the company on your bill. AEP Ohio, AES Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio and the FirstEnergy utilities still deliver power to most homes in their territories.

Who Answers the Phone at Each Type of Ohio Plant

The owner type decides where your question goes. Here is how the main groups work:

Northwest Ohio Towns, Lake Erie Metros and River Counties: Regional Differences

Northwest Ohio has an unusual number of small-city power systems. Bryan and Montpelier in Williams County, Napoleon in Henry County and Bowling Green in Wood County all appear in the listings. Many such cities buy and share power through American Municipal Power, a nonprofit based in Columbus, which helps explain the cluster of municipal solar fields. The flat farmland nearby also hosts wind projects such as Paulding Wind Farm near Payne.

The Lake Erie metros look different. Cleveland's listings sit in Cuyahoga County, the largest group in the state. Toledo and Oregon in Lucas County add Anthony Wayne Solar #1 and the Oregon Clean Energy Center. Urban sites like these sit near dense neighbourhoods, so air permits, noise and truck traffic draw more attention than they do in the countryside. Along the lake shore, the state's two nuclear stations, Davis-Besse in Ottawa County and Perry in Lake County, fall under federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight.

Southwest Ohio is an industrial belt. Butler County holds Willey Battery Utility in Hamilton, Middletown Coke Company in Middletown and Woodsdale in Trenton, a mix of storage, industrial and generating sites. Dayton-area listings in Montgomery County fall within AES Ohio territory.

Along the Ohio River and in the southeast, the picture changes again. Gavin Power in Cheshire, the J.M. Stuart station in Aberdeen and Waterford Power in Washington County sit in coal-and-gas country, and Greenup Hydro in Franklin Furnace draws on river flow. Jefferson County near Steubenville also carries a high count. Big plants here are major local taxpayers and employers, so county commissioners and school boards follow their news closely.

Columbus is the administrative hub. PUCO, the OPSB and Ohio EPA all have their offices there, and AEP Ohio is based in the city. Even so, the Franklin County listing on Emig Road, the Renick Run Pumping Station, is a water facility. It is a reminder that utility plants come in several kinds, and a listing may be a pumping or treatment site rather than a generator.

Reaching an Ohio Plant, Reporting a Problem and Joining the Permit Process

Most plants are secure industrial sites. Do not expect walk-in tours or a front counter. Where a listing includes a phone number, such as Bryan Solar Field at 419-633-6100, Central Utility Plant Cincinnati at 513-558-1799 or Greenup Hydro at 513-785-7200, call first and say exactly what you need. Where it does not, start with the owner's customer line or city hall.

Pick the right door for the problem:

When you call, have the site address ready. If you are a customer, add your account number. For a complaint, note the date and time and take photos if it is safe to do so. A clear record gets a faster answer from any agency.

Municipal plants are public offices. Under Ohio's public records law and the Open Meetings Act, you can request records and attend council or board meetings where electric rates and plant budgets are decided. Private plants do not carry those duties, but their state filings are public.

Confirm hours and contacts before you travel. Ownership of generating stations changes often in Ohio, so a name on a listing can lag behind a sale, a retirement or a conversion to a new fuel.

Power plant facilities in Ohio include a mix of federal, state, and municipally owned generation assets that contribute to the region's overall electricity supply. Ohio's energy mix and the number of publicly owned facilities reflect the state's natural resources, regulatory environment, and historical development of its utility infrastructure.

Power Plant locations are available in 129 cities across Ohio. They are spread across 70 counties.

Areas with the highest concentration of power plant locations include Cleveland, Columbus, Bowling Green, often reflecting proximity to water resources, fuel supply infrastructure, or industrial demand centers.

Residents of Ohio who are customers of a municipal or public power utility can contact their local power authority for billing assistance, energy efficiency programs, and information about planned outages or infrastructure upgrades in their service area.

Power Plant by Counties

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Residents of Ohio who receive electricity service from a publicly owned utility can visit or contact that utility's customer service office to learn about outage reporting, billing options, and energy assistance programs. For information about a specific power generation facility in Ohio, contacting the state's public utility commission is often the best starting point.

Browse Power Plant by county across Ohio to find the nearest location.

Finding Your Ohio Power Plant Through County Pages

County pages are the quickest way to narrow a search in Ohio. In the Toledo area, the Lucas County page covers Anthony Wayne Solar #1 on Spencer Street and the Oregon Clean Energy Center on North Lallendorf Road. The Wood County page includes the Bowling Green Power Plant on North Dunbridge Road. In the northeast, Trumbull County holds the GM Lordstown Assembly Solar Array on Hallock Young Road in Warren.

Other large county groups include Franklin, Darke, Lorain, Jefferson and Montgomery. Lorain County lists Oberlin Spear Point Solar One on North Professor Street, while Darke County lists Buckeye Power's Greenville Station on Sebring Warner Road. If a site sits near a county line, check the city name as well, since a Henry County site can carry a Napoleon address.

Rural addresses are often highway numbers, such as 12450 Ohio 34 in Bryan, so use a map app and call ahead. Gates may be locked and staff may be off site. Ohio's generation fleet is also changing, with new solar and battery sites like Willey Battery Utility in Hamilton arriving alongside older plants, so confirm that a site is active before you visit.

The Ohio Power Siting Board decides whether to certify major generating facilities, meaning those of 50 megawatts or more, along with certain transmission lines. Its authority comes from Chapter 4906 of the Ohio Revised Code, and the PUCO chairperson chairs the board. The process includes an application, staff review, a local public hearing and an adjudicatory hearing, and residents can file comments or ask to intervene. Smaller projects get a lighter state process but still need local zoning approval and Ohio EPA permits where emissions or water discharges are involved. You can follow any case through the board's public docket.

Sometimes, but rarely on a walk-in basis. Most generating stations, substations and industrial utility plants restrict access for safety and security reasons. Municipal systems such as Shelby, Orrville or Bowling Green may host school groups or open houses, so call the city utility office and ask. Solar fields like Bryan Solar Field or Napoleon Solar I are often visible from the road, but the fenced area is off limits. Never enter a fenced site without permission. For a guided visit, ask the owner's community relations office to set a date in advance, and expect to show photo identification at the gate.

Call the company that delivers your power, not the plant that generates it. For many households that is AEP Ohio, AES Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio or a FirstEnergy utility. Customers of a city-owned system call the city, and cooperative members call their co-op. If a billing dispute stays unresolved, you can file a complaint with PUCO, which regulates the investor-owned companies. Municipal utilities answer to their city councils, so raise issues at a council meeting. If you buy from a retail supplier, PUCO's comparison chart helps you check offers before you sign or switch.

In part. Senate Bill 52, effective in 2021, lets county commissioners designate unincorporated areas as restricted, which keeps large wind and solar facilities out of them. Residents can petition for a referendum on that designation. Projects below the state certificate threshold are mainly a matter of local zoning. Because rules differ by county, read the commissioners' resolutions and meeting minutes for the county where a site would go, for example Williams, Paulding or Defiance. County offices can tell you whether any restricted area has been adopted and where to find the paperwork.

Many northwest Ohio cities own their electric systems, and several have added local generation, especially solar, through shared municipal power programs. Bryan, Montpelier, Napoleon and Bowling Green all appear in the listings, which is why Williams County and Wood County rank so high for their size. Open farmland supplies room for solar and wind, and the Bridgewater Dairy Anaerobic Digester near Montpelier adds biogas. The result is many small sites instead of a few large stations. In Cleveland and Columbus, by contrast, the listings include water and campus utility plants alongside generators.

Yes. Davis-Besse in Ottawa County and Perry in Lake County are the state's two commercial nuclear stations, both on Lake Erie. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses and inspects them, with inspectors stationed on site. State bodies still play a part: Ohio EPA handles related water and air permits, and emergency planning involves county emergency management agencies. These stations may not appear as listings in this directory, so if you live nearby, contact your county emergency management office for evacuation zones and alert information.