Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel

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Utility Complaints or Questions? Call 1-877-PICKOCC

If you’re like most consumers, you pay your monthly utility bill without a second thought. However, sometimes the utility billing process can cause confusion or concern. That’s when you can call the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) toll-free hotline for help with your utility disputes or questions. If you have a complaint or question about charges on your telephone bill, a meter reading problem or you need additional information about your utility services, the OCC can help.

Customer Service Representatives can be reached toll free at
1-877-PICKOCC (742-5622) or by email at occ@occ.state.oh.us and are to respond to consumers' questions about utility services. Click here to fill out and submit an online contact form.

Providing answers and resolutions

The OCC toll-free hotline provides information relating to residential utilities — electric, natural gas, telephone and water. You can call the OCC for a variety of reasons including:

To obtain assistance from professionals trained in resolving complaints about utility services
To seek assistance in understanding your utility bills
To request utility-related information
To receive OCC’s free bimonthly newsletter that features articles and tips on utility issues
To help answer questions about your utility services
To learn about cost saving tips
To help avoid disconnection or assist with reconnection of your utility service
To learn about your rights as a residential utility consumer

Educational materials

The OCC has many free publications on a variety of utility related topics available to assist you in learning about your utilities. Some of the fact sheets you can request include topics on:

Energy aggregation
Budget billing
Energy efficiency and water conservation
Utility bills made easy
Assistance programs
Reading your meter (for electric, natural gas and water)
Disconnections and reconnections (for electric, natural gas and telephone)
Handling telemarketers
Choices in your local and long-distance telephone service

Additionally, the OCC offers its Consumer Assistance Handbook. The handbook is a one-stop reference guide to your utility services.

You can request any of the fact sheets or the handbook by calling the OCC at 1-877-PICKOCC (1-877-742-5622) or by visiting the OCC's web site at www.pickocc.org. All of the OCC's educational materials are available online.

After hours

You can access utility information 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the OCC’s automated Call Center. The Call Center’s active voice response system allows consumers to, among many other options, request materials about specific utility issues, such as participating in natural gas choice programs and selecting a long distance telephone provider. You also can also request free consumer assistance publications. The OCC web site is another helpful alternative for you for publications and factsheets. You can request information by submitting a contact form or e-mail your complaints or questions to occ@occ.state.oh.us.