TL;DR
- Service area: three operating brands — Ohio Edison (Akron/Youngstown), Toledo Edison (NW Ohio), and The Illuminating Company (Cleveland metro) — across roughly 30 Ohio counties.
- Primary trade alignment: electric service, panel upgrades, and HVAC tune-ups — pair with an OCILB-licensed electrician and an OCILB-licensed HVAC tech.
- Key rebate programs: Online Energy Audit, AC tune-up rebates, smart-thermostat rebates, heat-pump and HVAC equipment rebates, EV-charger pilot programs.
- Emergency line: 1-888-544-4877 (24/7) — same number for all three operating brands.
- Outage map: firstenergycorp.com/outages/maps.html.
Who they serve
FirstEnergy Corp is the parent of three regulated Ohio operating companies. All three are regulated by PUCO, share customer-service systems, and answer the same 24/7 emergency number. The brand split is largely historical from pre-merger operations — homeowners interact with one or another depending on the county.
Primary metros and cities: Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Warren, Canton (eastern parts), Toledo, Sandusky, Ashtabula, Mansfield, Marion.
Toledo Edison
NW Ohio + Lake Erie shore.
Counties: Lucas, Wood, Erie, Sandusky, Ottawa, Seneca.
Ohio Edison
Akron, Youngstown, Mahoning Valley, north-central Ohio.
Counties: Summit, Stark, Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Wayne, Medina, Portage, Richland, Ashland, Crawford, Wyandot, Marion.
The Illuminating Company
Cleveland metro + east-lake counties.
Counties: Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Lorain, Ashtabula.
Major rebate programs (2026)
FirstEnergy's Ohio rebate portfolio is delivered through the shared "FirstEnergy savings" customer portal, with eligibility and dollar amounts varying by operating company. Verify the current numbers on the FirstEnergy savings portal before signing any contract.
- Online Energy Audit. Free self-service home-energy audit through the FirstEnergy savings portal — produces a tailored efficiency report and surfaces eligible rebates for the specific account.
- AC tune-up rebates. Recent program years offered $25–$50 rebates for a qualifying spring AC tune-up performed by an authorized HVAC contractor. Pair with the spring window in the ProFix seasonal calendar.
- Smart-thermostat rebates. $50–$100 instant or mail-in rebates for qualifying Nest, ecobee, and Honeywell smart thermostats, sometimes paired with optional demand-response enrollment.
- Heat-pump and HVAC equipment rebates. Several hundred dollars for qualifying high-efficiency heat pumps, central AC, and air-source heat-pump retrofits. Amounts depend on the SEER2 and HSPF2 ratings.
- EV-charger pilot programs. Select territories offer Level 2 charger rebates and managed-charging incentives. Eligibility varies by operating company — check the FirstEnergy EV resource page for your specific address.
When to call a contractor — not the utility
FirstEnergy runs the meter and the outage. Everything past the meter is contractor work, which means Ohio Edison + Toledo Edison + Illuminating Company customers all need an OCILB-licensed electrician for panel work and a separate OCILB HVAC tech for furnace and AC work.
The utility owns this
- Outage response, downed-line make-safe, and restoration.
- Service drop from the pole or underground service to your meter.
- Meter installation, replacement, and AMI smart-meter retrofit.
- Service-upgrade coordination when load increases.
- Vegetation management on the utility right-of-way.
- Rebate processing through the FirstEnergy savings portal.
Hire a licensed contractor for this
- Panel upgrade, sub-panel install, branch-circuit work — OCILB electrician. See the electrician buyer's guide.
- EV-charger circuit + smart-charger install. Pair with the FirstEnergy EV pilot rebate if available in your territory.
- AC tune-up + heat-pump retrofit — OCILB HVAC tech. See the HVAC buyer's guide.
- Generator transfer switch and whole-house generator install.
- Service-mast repair or replacement on the customer side of the meter.
- Permit-pulled work through the city or county building department.
Emergency + outage protocol
The FirstEnergy emergency line is 1-888-544-4877 (24/7) for Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison, and The Illuminating Company. The outage map and report-an-outage flow are shared.
- For a downed line: stay at least 35 feet away, do not touch anything in contact with the line (including a fence, vehicle, or puddle), call 911, and call FirstEnergy at 1-888-544-4877.
- For a sustained outage: check the outage map at firstenergycorp.com/outages/maps.html and report your address if it does not appear. The map shows neighborhood-level restoration ETAs.
- For a planned outage: FirstEnergy notifies affected customers by door hanger, mail, or text depending on account preferences. Critical-care customers can register for priority restoration but should still maintain an independent backup-power plan.
- After restoration: if the outage event involved a line strike, surge, or transformer damage near your home, document everything for an insurance claim and have an OCILB-licensed electrician inspect the service mast and panel before re-energizing sensitive equipment.
Smart home + new construction
FirstEnergy coordinates the utility-side work for new construction and service upgrades. The contractor handles the customer-side install. The most common smart-home coordination points are EV chargers, heat-pump retrofits, and whole-house generators.
- AMI smart-meter retrofit. FirstEnergy is rolling out AMI smart meters across the Ohio footprint on a utility-scheduled basis. Customers cannot self-initiate the swap.
- EV charger inspection. An OCILB electrician installs the circuit and pulls the city or county permit. FirstEnergy coordinates the meter upgrade if the load increase exceeds existing service capacity, and the rebate paperwork (if eligible) is filed after inspection.
- Service upgrade for electrification. Older Ohio homes were often built with 100A or 150A service; full electrification (heat pump + induction + EV) typically needs 200A or more. The contractor handles the customer-side panel and service mast; FirstEnergy handles the drop and meter.
- Whole-house generator. Permanent natural-gas generators require a transfer switch (electrician work) and a gas-line tie-in (OCILB plumbing-licensed work). Coordinate the utility-side meter capacity and notification with FirstEnergy + your gas utility (Columbia Gas or Dominion Energy Ohio) before install.
Where ProFix can help
FirstEnergy handles the meter and the outage. ProFix handles the contractor side — verified OCILB-licensed electricians and HVAC techs serving the Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, and Toledo metros.
- Electrician directory — OCILB-licensed electricians serving the FirstEnergy footprint.
- HVAC directory — OCILB-licensed HVAC contractors for the AC-tune-up and heat-pump rebate pairings.
- How to choose an Ohio electrician — verifying OCILB licensing, EV-charger experience, and permit history.
- How to choose an Ohio HVAC tech — for the heat-pump and AC-tune-up rebate paths.
- Emergency contacts hub — universal Ohio safety numbers + outage protocol.
FAQ
What is the difference between Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison, and The Illuminating Company?
They are three regulated operating companies under one FirstEnergy parent. Ohio Edison covers Akron, Youngstown, and most of the Mahoning Valley plus north-central Ohio. Toledo Edison covers the Toledo metro and the Lake Erie shore counties through Sandusky. The Illuminating Company covers the Cleveland metro and the lake counties east through Ashtabula. All three share the same 24/7 emergency number and the same FirstEnergy customer-rebate portal — the brand split is mostly historical, not operational.
What number do I call for an Akron, Cleveland, or Toledo outage?
FirstEnergy: 1-888-544-4877 (24/7). The same number works for Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison, and The Illuminating Company. For downed lines, stay at least 35 feet away, treat the line as live, call 911 first, and then call FirstEnergy. The outage map for all three brands is at firstenergycorp.com/outages/maps.html.
What rebates does FirstEnergy offer Ohio residential customers?
FirstEnergy's Ohio energy-efficiency program portfolio includes residential AC tune-up rebates, smart-thermostat rebates (typically $50–$100 for qualifying Nest, ecobee, and Honeywell models), HVAC equipment rebates for heat pumps and high-efficiency AC, online energy-audit tools, and EV-charger pilot programs in select territories. Dollar amounts and program availability change every program year; verify on the FirstEnergy savings portal before installing.
Does FirstEnergy install or upgrade my electrical panel?
No. FirstEnergy owns the service drop from the pole or underground service to your meter, and the meter itself. Everything past the meter — panel, branch circuits, sub-panels, EV-charger circuit, generator transfer switch, service mast on the customer side — is your contractor's job. An OCILB-licensed electrician handles the customer-side panel upgrade; FirstEnergy coordinates the service-drop sizing and meter-base requirements but does not perform the install.
What happens during a planned FirstEnergy outage for tree-trimming or pole work?
FirstEnergy gives advance notice (door hangers, mailers, or text alerts depending on your account preferences) before planned outages for vegetation management, pole replacement, or transformer work. Outages typically last 4–8 hours during daylight. Critical-care customers can register on the FirstEnergy critical-care list for priority restoration; medical-device customers should also have a backup power plan independent of utility schedules.
Do I need a FirstEnergy electrician for permit work?
No — FirstEnergy does not maintain a contractor list in the way that some utilities do, and they do not perform residential repair work themselves. For any work past the meter (panel, branch circuits, EV charger, generator), hire an OCILB-licensed electrician and use the local city or county building department for the permit. Ohio Edison and The Illuminating Company territories include strict municipal permit and inspection requirements — verify with your local building department before any work begins.
Sources
Verify rebate amounts and program rules at FirstEnergy's own pages before committing — they change every program year. Primary references: FirstEnergy Corp, FirstEnergy outage map, FirstEnergy save-energy portal, PUCO, Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4740 (OCILB), ENERGY STAR rebate finder, and the ProFix data sources index.
Hand the question to your preferred assistant — it will use ProFix Directory's open MCP server and llms.txt as context.