Ohio Republicans move to weaken renewable energy standards

By Eric Weaver and Philip de Oliveira

[pullquote]“These mandates reek more of socialist central government planning than anything approaching a free competitive market.” Rep. Bill Seitz[/pullquote]Republicans in the Ohio Legislature are moving ahead with House Bill 114, aimed at weakening renewable energy standards in the state.

This legislation comes in response to Gov. John Kasich’s December 2016 veto of House Bill 554, which would have extended a freeze on renewable energy standards through 2018. Instead, the two-year freeze was allowed to lapse.

HB 114, under primary sponsor Rep. Louis Blessing III (R-Colerain Township), would not remove the standards themselves, but rather make them optional. That is, utilities companies that did not comply with the standards would face no penalties.

HB 114 received its second hearing Tuesday, March 21, and Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Green Township), Public Utilities Committee Chair, says the bill is veto-proof.

Rep. Seitz has been a vocal opponent of the mandates, saying that the cost of purchasing renewable energy is causing unreasonable increases in customers’ electric bills.

“These mandates reek more of socialist central government planning than anything approaching a free competitive market,” Seitz said in a op-ed on Cincinnati.com.

HB 114 is one of the many pieces of the Ohio House Republican Agenda, known as the “Buckeye Pathway.” In the Agenda, Ohio Republicans express support for less federal involvement in Ohio’s energy economy, emphasizing a desire to lower consumer costs.

A fiscal note and impact statement from the Ohio Legislative Service Commission states that HB 114 would not only make the renewable energy standards voluntary for electric utilities, but utilities would not be required to meet energy efficiency savings requirements “for seven of the next 11 years.”

The report also describes the possible impact of HB 114 on electric consumers. Currently, all electric customers pay an alternative energy rider, which is essentially a surcharge to cover the utilities’ lost revenue due to more efficient—and therefore, reduced—energy consumption. HB 114 would allow “all customers, including state and local governments, [to] opt out of paying the alternative energy rider on their electricity bill,” says the report.

During his opposition testimony in front of the House Public Utilities Committee Tuesday, March 21, Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Bruce Weston expressed concern about consumer protections under HB 114.

“Consumers pay the costs for these [utility-run energy efficiency programs],” Weston said. “Accordingly, legislation should protect Ohio utility consumers from paying too much for energy efficiency, whether the programs are mandated or voluntary.”

Other vocal opponents to HB 114 are making their voices heard. The American Wind Energy Association released a statement opposing the bill.

Citing the “nearly 3,000 jobs and $900 million in wind project investment” in Ohio, the AWEA warned that HB 114 “would take Ohio even farther in the wrong direction than [HB 554 would have].”

The bill could pass the House as soon as next week and has more than 50 co-sponsors.