OHIO STEEL PRODUCERS OBJECT TO CONFIDENTIALITY OF UTILITY AGREEMENTS

COLUMBUS, Ohio (June 27, 1996) –  The Ohio Steel Commission is urging the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to refuse to grant confidential treatment to discounted rate agreements between electric companies and their customers.

The Steel Commission, a 16-member group of steel, labor, education and government officials, contends that such treatment denies energy users access to information that can help them negotiate competitive rates.

The resolution follows the PUCO's decision to keep secret the terms of a contract between Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. and American Steel & Wire Corp. in Cuyahoga Heights. The PUCO approved the contract last year and agreed to seal it from public review until at least October 1996.

"This action could set a precedent allowing other confidential agreements," said Harold V. Kelly, co-chairman of the Commission and executive vice president and general counsel at Republic Engineered Steels, Inc. in Massillon. "By shrouding such agreements in secrecy, the PUCO would set up an unfair competitive climate. Full and timely access to rate agreements is needed for energy users to know what rates and terms are available in the marketplace."

Ohio steel producers are the largest industrial user of electricity in the state, consuming more than $300 million in electricity during 1995. The Commission and its nine member steel companies, which account for more than 90 percent of Ohio's steel production, have called for competition among utility companies since the Commission was formed in 1991.

Confidential agreements can offer an unfair advantage to companies that compete with Ohio's long-standing steel producers, whose rate agreements are public information, the Commission contends.

"If utilities can keep their rate agreements secret, existing energy users will have the worst of both worlds -- no access to information about what our local electric companies can do for us and no access to the broader electricity marketplace and the suppliers that are anxious to meet our price and service objectives," Kelly said.

"We face competition from steel producers in other states and countries, as well as new start-up mills. If confidentiality is allowed to continue, potential competitors will be able to negotiate heavily discounted rates to the detriment of some of the Buckeye State's leading employers."

The Ohio Steel Commission is a public-private partnership to strengthen ties among the steel industry, the state of Ohio and its citizens. The Commission's member organizations are AK Steel Corp., Armco Inc., CSC Ltd., LTV Steel Co., Republic Engineered Steels, Inc., The Timken Co., USS/KOBE Steel Co., WCI Steel, Inc., Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., the United Steelworkers of America, the Ohio Legislature, the Ohio Department of Development, The Ohio State University and Youngstown State University. Lukens Inc. is as an associate member.