SOBE Concerned Citizens Urges State of Ohio To Remedy PUCO Judgment Errors That Have Led to Freezing Conditions In Youngstown
- SOBE Concerned Citizens
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
SOBE Concerned Citizens Urges Public Utilities Commission of Ohio To Address Lack of Heat in Youngstown And Prevent Harm In These Frigid Conditions
For Immediate Release
February 2, 2026
Lynn Anderson 330-792-0428
Due to PUCO ignoring citizen group's warnings the city of Youngstown has suffered and is still, under an incompetent public utility company that never should have been conveyed to an inexperienced unqualified manager.
A full four years ago SOBE Concerned Citizens (SCC) uncovered an alarming divergence from the original operation/ownership transfer laid out in 2019 and granted in 2021 to SOBE Thermal by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). CEO of SOBE Energy Solutions, David Ferro, at a Public Utilities Committee of the Youngstown City Council meeting July 21, 2022 presented his plan to not only operate the steam boiler to heat downtown buildings, but, alarmingly, to “superheat” tires to produce synthetic gas to burn and sell. He said he would never go out of business like Youngstown Thermal did because he would generate profits from selling the syn gas, carbon black, plastic, and also generate electricity to a contractor to run computers to mine cryptocurrency.
This led to SCC mobilizing Youngstown residents over a period of eight months to call and write PUCO Chairman Jenifer French urging her to nullify the designation of the former Youngstown Thermal, LLC SOBE Energy Solutions of Dublin, Ohio to operate as a Public Utility. On January 9, 2023, SCC held a public town hall meeting at the Covelli Center providing concerned citizens access to computers to submit complaints on PUCO’s website. Our concern was that SOBE Energy Solutions of Dublin Ohio was not qualified to be a dependable public utility provider, and had purchased the old steam heating/cooling plant property for $250,000 as a property on which to build a pyrolysis plant to produce synthetic gas for sale.
Jenifer French, Chairman of PUCO, never responded to any communications regarding this crucial matter yet in a last September 2025 press release she states, “SOBE’s customers deserve to have peace of mind that their vital utility services remain uninterrupted,” stated PUCO Chair Jenifer French. “The PUCO is committed to taking all appropriate steps necessary to ensure reliable utility service for downtown Youngstown.” Meanwhile, four years earlier: “The Commission’s stewardship of Youngstown Thermal operations enters a new stage with the approval of SOBE Thermal Energy Systems as a new owner and operator,” stated PUCO Chair Jenifer French. “Having a financially healthy and capable operator is crucial to customers receiving the adequate and reasonably priced utility service they have come to rely upon.”
Now we are burdened with a failed public utility: SOBE Thermal, LLC is in receivership, adding to the possible harms to public health and safety of our community. This was wholly preventable, if PUCO would have listened to the concerned citizens of Youngstown.
Amplifying the harm, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OHEPA) unwisely granted a permit for SOBE’s planned pyrolysis facility construction - the air pollution permit gives blanket permission for a full ten years to SOBE to not only run the steam boiler to heat city buildings but ALSO to pyrolyze tire chips and create synthetic gas for sale. This 10 year permit was granted on February 14, 2024, AFTER much public opposition and additionally the passage of a one year moratorium ordinance by Youngstown City Council and signed by the Mayor. The ordinance stops any gasification plant project in the city while local officials research the dangers to health and safety that these plants could pose. The moratorium ordinance has been renewed twice. In addition, the City of Youngstown filed an ERAC (Environmental Review Appeals Commission) appeal on March 15, 2024 to demand this permit be revoked. At this writing, this faulty(we believe) permit is still considered an asset of the business and is able to be sold by the receivers.
We stand with the City of Youngstown in calling PUCO to account:
“The ongoing issues with SOBE’s ability to provide adequate heating services continue to be alarming and fall well below the standards of their responsibilities as a public utility. We continue to urge for immediate intervention from PUCO and are continuously working with the state to find a meaningful solution to meet the needs of our constituents who depend on their services.”
–Andy Resnick, Spokesperson for the city of Youngstown, January 28, 2026, Vindicator
SCC also questions PUCO’s appointment of the same officials to handle the receivership* of Youngstown Thermal, and now, SOBE Thermal, LLC. They have demonstrated extreme incompetence by failing to provide adequate heating services to Youngstown customers before winter. We urge PUCO take responsibility for the failure that has caused such hardship here during these weeks of below freezing temperatures and provide reliable steam heating to the affected buildings in downtown Youngstown immediately!
for more information: www.stop-sobe.com
We are STOP Sacrificing Our Beautiful Environment (STOP-SOBE)!
https://www.stop-sobe.com/post/sobe-concerned-citizens-urges-state-of-ohio-to-remedy-puco-judgment-errors-that-have-led-to-freezing Press Release permalink
*A receivership is a legal process in which a neutral third party—the receiver—is appointed by a court to take custody, control, and management of property, assets, or a business. The receiver’s primary duty is to preserve and protect the value of the assets, often by rehabilitating the company, selling the assets, or distributing proceeds to creditors. Unlike bankruptcy, receivership is not typically a debtor-initiated process; it is frequently sought by creditors, shareholders, or regulators when they believe a business is mismanaged or insolvent.
