A charge labeled FIRSTENERGY OPCO on your bank statement is a legitimate electricity payment to one of FirstEnergy’s regulated utility subsidiaries. “OPCO” is short for “operating company,” and the line item usually appears in a form like “FIRSTENERGY OPCO AC PREAUTHORIZED ACH DEBIT” when you’re enrolled in automatic bank drafts, or in a similar format for a one-time electronic payment routed through FirstEnergy’s payment processor, ACI Speedpay.1ACI Worldwide. What Is This Charge
Which FirstEnergy Utility the Charge Is Actually From
FirstEnergy is a holding company, not a utility itself. Your electricity is delivered by one of its regional subsidiaries, and the “FIRSTENERGY OPCO” descriptor can come from any of them:2FirstEnergy Corp. Electric Companies
- Ohio: Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company (Cleveland area), and Toledo Edison.
- Pennsylvania: Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, and West Penn Power. The four consolidated into a single legal entity, FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company, effective January 1, 2024, but they still bill under their legacy brand names.3FirstEnergy Corp. FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Subsidiaries Receive Approval to Consolidate
- New Jersey: Jersey Central Power & Light.
- West Virginia: Mon Power.
- Maryland: Potomac Edison.
Municipal accounting records confirm the pattern. A December 2024 check-detail report from South Fayette Township in Pennsylvania shows multiple preauthorized ACH debits under the “FIRSTENERGY OPCO” descriptor, all tied to West Penn Power electric service.4South Fayette Township. Check Detail Report The generic label on the statement is a byproduct of how payments run through the holding company’s centralized system.
Why It Doesn’t Say Your Local Utility’s Name
FirstEnergy began moving its electronic payment processing to ACI Speedpay in May 2024, and by January 2025 every FirstEnergy utility was handled on that platform.5The Dominion Post. FirstEnergy Customers Will See Some Fee Changes as Company Moved to Third-Party Payment Processing That switch changed how transactions appear on bank and card statements. According to ACI Worldwide, descriptors generally combine the paid organization’s name with ACI’s own.1ACI Worldwide. What Is This Charge In practice, many customers see “FIRSTENERGY OPCO” instead of “Ohio Edison” or “West Penn Power,” which is why the charge can look unfamiliar even when the account is your own.
How to Confirm the Charge Is Yours
If someone in the household has electric service through any of the subsidiaries listed above, and the amount and date roughly match a recent bill, the debit is almost certainly a routine utility payment. The fastest check is to log in to your FirstEnergy online account and compare the transaction to your billing history. You can also call your operating company’s Customer Care Center, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; the direct phone number for each utility is listed on FirstEnergy’s contact page, and an automated system is available 24 hours a day.6FirstEnergy Corp. Phone Numbers and Business Hours
If nobody in the household has a FirstEnergy account, treat the charge as unauthorized. FirstEnergy states that it never contacts customers to request bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, or similar sensitive information by phone, email, or text. Dispute the debit with your bank, report it to FirstEnergy, and file reports with local police and the Federal Trade Commission.7FirstEnergy Corp. Known Scams
Stopping or Changing the Recurring Debit
If the charge is yours but you want to stop it, you can cancel AutoPay online through the FirstEnergy account portal on the AutoPay Bank Account page, or by calling the Customer Care Center for your utility. Stored bank accounts can also be managed through the “Billing & Payment History” tab, which hands off to the ACI Speedpay interface.8FirstEnergy Corp. AutoPay Bank Account After canceling, you’ll need to start paying through another method so a bill doesn’t lapse. Customers who were already on automatic payments before the ACI Speedpay switch were moved onto the new system automatically.5The Dominion Post. FirstEnergy Customers Will See Some Fee Changes as Company Moved to Third-Party Payment Processing
Why the Amount May Be the Same Every Month
If the “FIRSTENERGY OPCO” debit is an identical figure month after month, the account is likely on a budget billing program that spreads annual costs across level payments rather than tracking actual monthly usage:
- Equal Payment Plan (EPP), offered in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Each bill is set at one-twelfth of estimated annual usage. The amount is reviewed quarterly in Ohio and Pennsylvania and in the eighth and twelfth months in New Jersey, with a reconciliation at the twelve-month anniversary that brings the balance to zero.9FirstEnergy Corp. Equal Payment Plan
- Average Payment Plan (APP), offered in Maryland and West Virginia through Potomac Edison and Mon Power. The payment is recalculated each month based on a rolling twelve-month average.10FirstEnergy Corp. Average Payment Plan
You can unenroll from either plan at any time. The difference between what was actually used and what was paid gets applied to the next bill.9FirstEnergy Corp. Equal Payment Plan