The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, the Ohio Poverty Law Center and Pro Seniors, a legal advocacy group representing the elderly, ratcheted up the pressure on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio late Monday with a demand for an independent investigation of American Electric Power’s (NASDAQ:AEP) decision to cut power to poor Columbus neighborhoods on June 13. (See AEP Under Fire as Load Sheds Persist in Ohio.)

The three consumer groups filed a 42-page motion in a PUCO docket created in 2020 to revise the reliability performance standards of AEP Ohio. Despite announcing a review on June 15 of AEP Ohio’s decisions to power to certain neighborhoods, PUCO has not created a docket for an investigation, nor held any public hearings. “We will be communicating with Ohio’s utilities to do an after-action review and determine what steps can be taken to avoid future occurrences,” PUCO Chair Jenifer French said at the time.

AEP has said it cut power to stabilize its system after receiving warnings from PJM of instability because the storm appeared to have affected some high-voltage transmission lines.

PUCO has invited AEP executives and top members of PJM to address the issue after its regular meeting on Wednesday.

The groups’ motion argues:

“The PUCO should order an investigation of the AEP outages (as contrasted with its current ‘review’), hire an independent auditor, order local hearings and other opportunities for the public to be heard, and determine if AEP was negligent and thereby owes consumers compensation for perishable food and other damages. The PUCO should conduct an investigation, in this case that is related to AEP’s reliability, or initiate an investigation and find ‘reasonable grounds’ to hold a hearing.”