DeMora Celebrates Passage of Energy Policy Overhaul

Today, state Senator Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) commended the Ohio Senate’s passage of House Bill 15, which makes significant changes to Ohio’s energy policies to protect consumers, increase power generation, and improve the state’s electric grid. House Bill 15 largely mirrors Senate Bill 2, which was unanimously passed by the Senate in March.

“This bill isn’t perfect, but it shows that the state legislature is serious about providing bipartisan progress toward making energy more accessible, reliable, and affordable for every Ohioan,” said DeMora. “I’m particularly proud that my school energy efficiency program got included. That provision will offer low-interest loans to public schools for investing in energy efficiency upgrades and solar panel installations. This will help lower property taxes, extend school budgets, and ease the shift toward renewable energy. I’m excited to see this bill get signed by the Governor and become law.”

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.