Latest news with #BillReineke
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate committee advances energy compromise
File photo of electricity pylons. (Getty Images). With a final few tweaks, Ohio senators advanced a major piece of energy legislation. The Senate Energy Committee vote was unanimous. With both chambers in session Wednesday, it's likely lawmakers could sign off on the legislation and send it along to the governor. The most substantive change had to do with the Public Utility Commission of Ohio clock — it moved from 320 days to 360. Lawmakers are putting a ceiling on PUCO deliberations because they want rate cases to move more quickly. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX After Tuesday's hearing, state Sen. Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, connected the longer shot clock to broader changes in the ratemaking process. Utilities must come before the PUCO every three years, and they'll be able to set rates in three-year increments with annual 'true-ups' to reflect the companies' actual balance sheet. Reineke explained the longer timeline will give regulators a bit of breathing room. Before lawmakers put the bill to a vote, Ohio Consumers' Counsel Maureen Willis made a final bid to remove a provision on consumer refunds. Under the changes, bill payers could receive refunds after the Supreme Court determines a charge was unwarranted, but any payments prior to that decision would be out of reach. Willis explained her office in the middle of a case against Dayton-area AES Ohio which could yield more than $300 in refunds per customer. 'If HB 15 becomes law as written AES's half a million consumers would lose that refund opportunity that has been in the making since 2019,' she said. Ohio senators propose changes to harmonize House, Senate energy bills The final version of the bill also left out a passage subjecting more power line projects to state oversight. Willis called that omission 'disappointing.' 'No one is reviewing these projects,' she argued. 'Not the Ohio Power Siting Board, not the PUCO and not (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). Ohio consumers, your constituents, pay 100% of those costs through transmission riders.' Rebecca Mellino from the Nature Conservancy praised lawmakers for repealing a controversial coal subsidy approved as part of 2019's HB 6 but argued 'Ohio lags far behind neighboring states' when it comes to renewable energy. She suggested provisions encouraging brownfield redevelopment could offer an opportunity for renewable energy investment. The core incentive for new energy production is a reduction in tangible personal property taxes — levied on things like machinery and equipment. But while lawmakers attempt to boost energy production with a tax cut, they're also trying to find reductions in property taxes. Energy committee chairman, Sen. Brian Chavez, R-Marietta, insisted the reductions won't undermine services. 'We're not changing any taxes that are in effect right now,' he explained. 'So any taxes from power plants that are in place will stay in place as they depreciate out — this is only on new generation.' Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, argued the tax break is an important cue to companies. When lawmakers passed HB 6, he said, they subsidized coal and nuclear facilities. 'It was not just putting your thumb on the scale,' he said, 'I mean, it wreaked havoc in natural gas generation.' With the current bill, lawmakers will remove the last of those subsidies. 'So we've sort of restored capitalism in the energy generation space,' Smith argued. 'And by reducing the tangible personal property percentage, hopefully that sends a signal.' Still, there's little Ohio's legislation can do to address lawmakers' central concern about power demand outstripping supply. The 13-state power network PJM has a substantial backlog of power plants that want to connect to the grid, and large-scale consumers like data centers are pushing demand for power higher. 'That's why we focused on behind the meter generation,' Chavez said, 'so that any new industry that comes into Ohio is not adding additional strain on the existing grid.' Behind the meter generation involves building a bespoke power plant directly connected to a given business. 'PJM is aware of the concerns that are out there. They're hearing that from all 13 states,' Chavez added. 'They are on our list. We're going to go talk to them in the fall, and we're going to have some frank conversations with them to see how we can partner to get through this.' Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate unanimously approves energy and utility overhaul
Ohio state Sen. Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, addressing the Senate. (Photo by Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal.) The Ohio Senate unanimously approved a measure Wednesday overhauling much of the state's energy sector. The chief goal of the proposal is to encourage investment in new, primarily gas-fired, power plants as the state's energy demands skyrocket. But as part of the bill, lawmakers made broad changes to the way to utilities bill customers. Utility regulators would be subject to a 'shot clock' meant to speed rate cases through the process and utilities themselves won't be able to rely on the energy bill surcharges that have helped bolster their balance sheets. Ohio Senate committee unanimously advances energy overhaul SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE But perhaps most notable, the bill eliminates the legacy generation rider — a surcharge devised to prop up two aging coal plants that are part of the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation. That controversial rider was part of 2019's Ohio House Bill 6 which was at the heart of a massive bribery scheme that landed former House Speaker Larry Householder in federal prison with a 20-year sentence. So far, the legacy generation rider has cost ratepayers about half a billion dollars. Senate Bill 2 draws a bright line between the companies building new power generation facilities and the ones more familiar names that show up on your monthly bill. Those energy giants control power distribution, and since 1999, they've largely been cut out of the generation business. 'We're making it clear that generation is separate from transmission,' the bill's sponsor state Sen. Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, told lawmakers Wednesday. In addition to keeping energy giants out of the marketplace, Reineke's bill offers tax incentives for newcomers. 'There will be no (tangible personal property) tax on new generation projects,' he explained, 'and a reduction from 88% to 25% on new transmission, distribution, and pipeline infrastructure.' In addition, Reineke bragged about cutting the turnaround time on regulatory decisions. 'We are changing that from 540 days on average to 365 days, and some siting cases will drop to 120,' Reineke said. 'It is not acceptable to be behind California and New York, so we will improve our turnaround time.' With a wave of new power-hungry customers so-called behind the meter service has gained traction. Some distribution companies want to dip a toe in the marketplace, building bespoke power plants for data centers around Ohio. But under the bill, existing facilities would be ok, but after it's effective date, distribution companies would not be able to participate. With unanimous approval, Reineke's efforts got a lot of praise, but even some supporters offered a grain of salt. State Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, joked that a program helping schools get loans for rooftop solar, might be 'the only bright idea I've had in a while,' and thanked Reineke for including it in the bill. But he added, 'This isn't a perfect bill,' noting it could have done more to improve energy efficiency. 'I know the utilities didn't get everything, I know that the consumers' counsel didn't get everything, I know that the users didn't get everything,' he continued, 'which, what I was told growing up, is if everybody didn't get everything they want, then it's a good bill.' State Sen. Louis Blessing, R-Colerain Twp., said the assumptions driving the bill might be flawed. 'So, for starters, this does move us more towards a deregulated state, away from a regulated state, and I think that is a problem,' he argued, 'because I think the regulated state is a better model for cheaper, more plentiful, and reliable energy in this state.' 'If deregulation was so wonderful,' he asked, 'Why are we talking about all of this need for energy right now, when we've been a deregulated state now for over 25 years?' Blessing said companies building new power plants aren't incentivized to maximize output because all that supply would just reduce the value of their product. He added that customers in deregulated markets often pay more for energy than those in regulated markets — on average, $40 a month more. 'I will vote yes,' he said, 'but I wouldn't expect this to be the panacea that we think it is.' Following session, Senate President Rob McColley called the measure a 'big piece of puzzle' when it comes to utility reform. 'This bill, really is something that I think is going to pay dividends for decades to come,' he said. 'This is a shift in energy policy that is saying that not only are we open to large energy users coming here and generating their own energy and bringing the economic development and jobs that comes with that, but also that we are open for energy users, such as the natural gas industry, to come here and set up shop easier.' Across the aisle, Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, was thrilled to see lawmakers taking steps to repeal HB 6's OVEC coal plant subsidies. He's been working on utility issues for 11 years, and said SB 2 might be 'a strange example of the benefit of term limits.' With a bit of back of the envelope math, he landed on 49 members of the current General Assembly were in office when HB 6 passed. 'So, you have 83 new members,' he explained — Energy Committee chairman Sen. Brian Chavez, R-Marietta, among them. 'As less of the General Assembly had to defend their House Bill 6 vote,' he argued, 'some sensibility kind of began to get baked into the process, and I think that's why we got majority party support.' During testimony on the floor, Smith held up letters from 18 constituents begging for utility reform two years ago. He's eager to write them a follow up but acknowledged Senate passage is just one step and he's nervous about how the bill might change after the House has its say. Once it's signed by the governor, Smith said, 'You know, great — that is a great day.' 'Until that happens,' he added, 'we haven't fixed anything yet.' Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
