Are property developers, managers liable, too?

Month-old rules regarding utility submetering may get their first test as the result of a complaint filed this week by a Reynoldsburg woman.

Cynthia Wingo, an elementary-school teacher, is asking the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio for permission to revise the complaint she filed in December against Nationwide Energy Partners, the company that resells electricity service in her apartment complex.

Her original complaint was based on a billing dispute with Nationwide Energy and the company’s threat — never carried out — to shut off her power during December.

In the revised version, she proposes to expand the complaint to include a developer, Crawford Hoying, and a property management firm, Borror Properties, among others.

The new filing says that contracts between Nationwide Energy and the others “are sham agreements intended to mask the true nature of NEP’s services and its relationship among the developer, residents, and tenants.”

She further alleges that Nationwide Energy’s charges are excessive, and that the arrangement deprives consumers of protections that would be in place with a regulated utility.

Columbus-based Nationwide Energy replied that her complaint is frivolous, calling it part of a crusade by Wingo’s attorney, Mark Whitt.

Last month, the PUCO ruled that submeter companies can charge no more than a the local regulated utility would, with some exceptions. The decision was part of an investigation that the commission launched in 2015 into these previously unregulated companies that act as intermediaries between regulated utilities and end users in apartment complexes and condominiums.

The PUCO now has the authority to determine whether a submeter company is charging more than regulated prices and, if so, impose penalties.

Wingo’s filing is the first by any consumer to cite the new ruling, including a provision that may allow for landlords and property managers to be named as defendants.

A formal complaint before the PUCO is like a civil lawsuit and may include a trial-like hearing.

Whitt is an attorney who has challenged submeter companies in several venues, including a proposed classaction lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

Since Wingo made her initial complaint, she has moved from Grove City to Reyoldsburg. Both her former apartment and her new one are served by Nationwide Energy. She would like to have moved to a property not served by the Nationwide Energy, but found that the company has such a large share of the central Ohio market that their are few choices, Whitt said.

Crawford Hoying and Borror did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Gary Morsches, Nationwide Energy’s CEO, said in a statement that his company has worked with Wingo over the years and that it takes resident concerns seriously.

“This case is actually one that is being pushed by a utility advocate who wants to circumvent the Public Utility Commission’s recent decision on submetering and fair pricing. We believe this motion is frivolous and we are reviewing this in detail, but our initial analysis shows that the claims do not apply to the original case, and many are based on false or misleading allegations.”

Morsches also noted that Whitt has recently dropped a separate PUCO complaint that he had filed against Nationwide Energy related to a Downtown condominium Whitt owns. Morsches said the dismissal was because Whitt lacks evidence to back up “false allegations.”

In response, Whitt said he withdrew his personal complaint because the PUCO ruling meant that his condominium association may be liable. This was, in effect, suing himself, which he did not want to do, he said.

“As a more practical matter, I want to focus my attention on someone’s cause other than my own,” Whitt said.