Ohio FirstEnergy utility deposit bonds.
From $100.
When FirstEnergy Corp. — parent of Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, and Toledo Edison — asks a new or higher-risk customer for a security deposit before turning on electric service, a surety bond stands in for that cash. Premiums cost 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, and no credit check up to $15,000.
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How much does an Ohio FirstEnergy utility deposit bond cost?
2% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
No underwriting queue for the standard utility deposit bond — enter your amount, pay, and send the bond to FirstEnergy. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your account details, the deposit amount on your FirstEnergy notice, and the effective date — that is the application.
Issued on the spot
No credit check up to $15,000, so most utility deposit bonds this size generate the moment you pay. No credit check up to $15,000.
Submit to FirstEnergy
Send the executed bond to your FirstEnergy operating company (Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, or Toledo Edison) in place of the cash deposit on your account. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the utility deposit bond actually does
Ohio's residential customer-deposit rule for electric, gas, and natural gas service — Ohio Admin. Code 4901:1-17-05 — caps the deposit a regulated utility can require from a new or higher-risk residential customer at one-twelfth of the customer's estimated charges for the ensuing twelve months, plus thirty percent of the monthly estimated charge. FirstEnergy's Ohio operating companies — Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, and Toledo Edison — apply that cap when they ask a residential customer to post a deposit before connecting or continuing electric service.
Rather than tie up that cash with FirstEnergy for the life of the account, a customer can post a surety bond for the same amount instead — a practice FirstEnergy accepts as a matter of its own account policy, not something the Commission's deposit rule itself spells out. The bond guarantees the customer's utility bill up to the bond amount; if the account goes unpaid, FirstEnergy can make a claim against the bond, and the customer repays the surety for anything paid out.
This bond is not insurance for the customer — it protects FirstEnergy's right to be paid. We issue whatever deposit amount FirstEnergy's notice specifies, priced from a $100 minimum, and no credit check up to $15,000.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
Submit to FirstEnergy. Send the executed bond to your FirstEnergy operating company (Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, or Toledo Edison) in place of the cash deposit on your account. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check up to $15,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, issued on the spot.
Submit the application with the deposit amount FirstEnergy's notice specified — the executed bond is generated instantly, ready to send to FirstEnergy.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Ohio bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Skip the cash deposit.
2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, and no credit check up to $15,000. Enter the deposit FirstEnergy required and send it in today.