Smith Celebrates Passage of Energy Overhaul Legislation

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) commended the Ohio Senate’s passage of Senate Bill 2, which makes significant changes to Ohio’s energy policies to protect consumers, increase power generation, and improve the state’s electric grid.

“Today, the Ohio Senate passed the best energy legislation since the renewable energy portfolio standards from about 20 years ago,” said Smith. “Senate Bill 2 is hopefully the first step in developing energy policy that will grow our new energy economy while keeping Ohio energy affordable and reliable. I was proud to serve as the lead Senate Democratic negotiator in what became bipartisan legislation passed unanimously.”

If passed, Senate Bill 2 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.

Senate Bill 2 now heads to the Ohio House of Representatives for consideration.