Ohio Senate Democrats are pushing for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to consider recent FirstEnergy layoffs when looking at personnel costs in their ongoing rate case.

The group sent a letter to PUCO about the workforce costs, asking them to consider that personnel pay factors into the rates that are placed on customers.

They say PUCO should look at the balance between ratepayers costs and reliable service.

"While the layoffs have a clear, direct impact on some Ohio FirstEnergy employees, it is important for the Commission to consider whether these layoffs impact service quality and reliability to all FirstEnergy Ohio ratepayers.

FirstEnergy serves the Mahoning Valley and other regions throughout the state, covering more than 2,000,000 customers.