Weinstein Celebrates Passage of Energy Policy Overhaul

Today, state Senator Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) proudly supported the Ohio Senate’s passage of House Bill 15, a major step forward in modernizing Ohio’s energy policy, increasing power generation capacity, and delivering long-overdue savings to Ohio families and businesses. 

House Bill 15 repeals subsidies for outdated coal-fired power plants operated by the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC), including facilities located outside the state. For years, Ohioans have been forced to shoulder the financial burden of these plants through hidden charges on their utility bills. With the enactment of HB 15, that costly and unnecessary subsidy comes to an end.

“For years, I’ve been fighting to lower energy costs for Ohio families, and ending the OVEC bailout is a huge win,” said Weinstein. “It was an outrageous misuse of public funds—sending hundreds of thousands of dollars a day to an aging coal plant in Indiana. Putting an end to that is a victory for ratepayers across the state.”

If enacted, House Bill 15 would:

• Promote accountability and transparency for consumers by requiring utilities to routinely come in for rate cases and justify how they spend ratepayer-collected money;
• Immediately end the “Legacy Generation Rider” so that Ohioans no longer have to foot the bill for OVEC subsidies, saving Ohio ratepayers nearly $450,000 per day;
• Create a permissive school energy efficiency loan program to reduce energy costs for public schools; and
• Protect consumers by codifying that they receive refunds for improper charges.

House Bill 15 now heads back to the Ohio House of Representatives for concurrence.