In short: Ohio Edison serves Akron. Its standard-offer homes paid about 16.2¢ per kWh in 2024, and customers lost about 3.9 hours of power including major storms (EIA). Summit County’s biggest weather risk is ice storms, rated “very high” (FEMA). Solar here needs both a City of Akron approval and a Summit County permit.
This page covers backup power, solar, batteries and EV charging in Akron. Ohio’s net metering rule, contractor licensing and state prices are in our Ohio energy guide.
Akron at a glance
- Ohio Edison (FirstEnergy): about 16.2¢ per kWh on average in 2024 for homes buying supply from Ohio Edison; 234 minutes of outages per customer with major events, 114 without, and about 1.3 interruptions a year (EIA-861, 2024). About 74% of its home customers buy supply from another company.
- Home solar: 3,791 net-metered home solar systems on Ohio Edison’s lines in 2024, 553 of them with a battery, about one in seven (EIA-861).
- Sun: about 3.6 kWh per square meter per day (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020), the same as Cleveland. Our rough estimate: about 1,060 kWh a year per kW of panels.
- Top hazards: Summit County is “very high” for ice storms and “relatively high” for strong wind, hail, lightning, flooding and winter weather (FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025).
- Public charging: 86 ports at 40 locations in Akron (AFDC, October 3, 2026).
Your utility and what it means
Ohio Edison owns the wires in Akron and restores outages. You can buy the supply part from its standard offer or from a supplier certified by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio; compare offers on PUCO’s Energy Choice Ohio site. Nearby cities such as Cuyahoga Falls and Hudson run their own electric utilities, with their own rules, so check your bill if you live near the city line.
- Net metering: under FirstEnergy’s Net Energy Metering Rider, each kWh you export offsets a kWh you buy in the same month. Excess is credited only at the generation part of your rate and applied to future bills; customer charges still apply. If you buy supply elsewhere, ask the supplier how it credits exports.
- Connection steps: apply to Ohio Edison before connecting; fit an outside disconnect within 10 feet of the meter; pass the electrical inspection; then Ohio Edison installs a two-way meter.
- Programs: we found no current Ohio Edison battery or EV charger rebate to confirm; ask the utility.
Backup power in Akron
Ice is the outage to plan for. FEMA rates Summit County “very high” for expected ice storm losses, the top rating, and “relatively high” for winter weather and strong wind. Ice brings many line breaks at once, in the cold, when a furnace blower and a sump pump both need power. Summer storms matter too: the August 6, 2024 tornadoes that hit Greater Cleveland also struck parts of Ohio Edison’s territory, FirstEnergy reported.
For a few hours, a portable power station keeps lights, phones, Wi-Fi and a CPAP running. To keep heat and a sump pump going on their own, look at a home battery or a natural gas standby generator; a portable generator with a transfer switch is the budget route. Compare them in backup power options and size them with the battery backup calculator and generator sizing tool.
Ice-storm safety: the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says to run a generator outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house, exhaust away from doors, windows and vents, and never in a garage, even to keep it out of the ice. Use battery-backed carbon monoxide alarms. A transfer switch or interlock needs a licensed electrician and a permit; see generator installation.
Solar in Akron
By our rough estimate, a kW of panels in Akron makes about 1,060 kWh a year on a flat surface; a south-facing, unshaded roof usually does better, and December sunlight is only about a fifth of June’s (NASA POWER). A 6 kW system would make roughly 6,400 kWh. Used at home as it is made, that would be worth up to about $1,030 a year at Ohio Edison’s 2024 average of 16.2¢. Exports earn only the generation part of the rate, so size the system to your own use. These are estimates, not promises.
The City of Akron says accessory solar on a home is allowed by right in most areas, so most projects need no zoning variance. Homes that are historic properties or sit in a historic district need extra approval first. Model your roof with the solar potential tool, test quotes in the solar savings calculator, and read solar installation and how net metering works.
Batteries in Akron
Ohio Edison customers add batteries more often than most Ohioans: about 15% of its home solar systems had one in 2024 (EIA). A battery stores daytime solar instead of exporting it at the lower generation-only credit, and it carries the essentials through an ice-storm outage. Akron treats storage like solar panels: include the battery in both the city approval and the county permit application. We found no confirmed utility or state battery rebate. See home battery installation and home battery cost.
EV charging in Akron
Akron has 86 public charging ports (AFDC, October 3, 2026), so most drivers will rely on home charging. At Ohio Edison’s 2024 average of 16.2¢ and about 30 kWh per 100 miles, that costs roughly $4.85 per 100 miles by our estimate; a supplier’s price changes it. A Level 2 charger needs a licensed electrician and an electrical permit; see EV charger installation and the EV charging cost calculator.
Drive on another fuel? See every alternative fuel station in Akron: hydrogen, propane, natural gas, E85 ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel.
Permits and inspections
- Two offices for solar and batteries: approval from the City of Akron Plans and Permits Center, and a permit from the County of Summit Department of Building Standards. The city’s Going Solar in Akron page links residential and commercial solar permit checklists and a historic properties checklist.
- Generators and EV chargers: ask the Plans and Permits Center which approvals your project needs; the wiring needs a licensed electrician.
- Utility approval: Ohio Edison must approve the interconnection before solar or a grid-tied battery is switched on.
- HOAs: get written approval before you sign.
Cities we cover
- Akron
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Akron energy FAQ
Why does solar in Akron need two permits?
The City of Akron’s Plans and Permits Center approves the project, and the County of Summit Department of Building Standards issues the permit. The city publishes residential and commercial solar checklists to guide both steps. Your installer normally files them; ask to see both approvals before work starts.
Does Ohio Edison pay for extra solar power?
It credits it rather than paying cash. Exports first offset what you buy in the same month; any excess is credited at the generation part of your rate and carried to future bills. A competitive supplier may offer different terms, so ask before you size a system.
What backup works best for an Akron ice storm?
For a multi-day ice outage, a natural gas standby generator runs longest. A battery is quieter and switches over by itself but usually covers essentials for about a day, and winter sun recharges it slowly. List what must run, usually the furnace blower, sump pump and fridge, then size with our calculators.
Can I put solar on a historic home in Akron?
Often yes, but it takes an extra approval. The city says historic properties and buildings in historic districts need additional review before installation, and it publishes a historic properties checklist. Ask the city’s planning department whether your home is listed before you get quotes.
Sources
Utilities, prices, outages and solar counts: U.S. Energy Information Administration, EIA-861 data for 2024. FirstEnergy Ohio interconnection FAQ, net metering primer, customer choice page and August 9, 2024 storm update; City of Akron Going Solar in Akron and Plans and Permits pages; all read October 3, 2026. Sun: NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020. Hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Charging: Alternative Fuels Data Center, October 3, 2026. Generator safety: CPSC.