Tricounty Rural Electric Customers may have received calls or received mail from Competitive Retail Electric Service (CRES) providers. CRES is only to target customers of investor-owned utilities (IOU’s) that are self-regulated, but it has become a growing problem in Ohio for cooperative members to receive calls from CRES telemarketers, offering them short term discounted rates and guaranteed savings if they switch.
 
Cooperative members and municipal utilities customers cannot switch their wholesale supplier of electricity. These groups were not included in Retail Choice Legislation passed over a decade ago.
 
Telemarketers who contact electric cooperative members and insist that they can switch could be in violation of PUCO rules, and Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and Truth-In-Advertising laws.
 
One of the best ways to avoid telemarketing contacts is to enroll in the National Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov. It is easy to register your phone number. If you have any concerns about these calls or mailings, please contact Tricounty Rural Electric at 419-256-7900.