The FirstEnergy Ohio utilities have withdrawn a tariff filing at the Public Utility Commission of Ohio to offer, via a third-party, insurance products to their customers.

As first reported by RetailEnergyX.com, the utilities said that such products were to have included, by way of example, the following:

• Disaster Protection Plan: pays insurance deductible reimbursement, emergency cash payments, and locksmith services in the event of damage to the customer's home.

• Personal Disaster Recovery Plan: pays mortgage payments, insurance deductible reimbursement, and other benefits while the customer's home is temporarily uninhabitable.

IGS Energy had raised several concerns with the utilities' plan, and noted in its original motion to intervene that it is unclear whether the utilities will bill for the insurance products on the utility bill. Apart from a single competitor (HomeServe USA), "FirstEnergy refuses to allow any other party to invoice and collect for noncommodity charges through the utility bill," IGS said in December 2014