HB 6 sets a dangerous precedent in Ohio. If not repealed entirely, HB 6 sets the example that while illegal, bribery, racketeering and money laundering are an effective way to move legislation through the Ohio Statehouse. Simply put, HB 6 makes a mockery of Ohio’s legislative process.
HB 6 will increase carbon emissions in Ohio. Ohio’s clean energy standards were on track to reduce Ohio’s annual carbon pollution by approximately 10 million tons between 2017 and 2029—the equivalent to avoiding emissions from the annual electricity consumption of 1 million homes. HB 6 effectively repealed these policies.
HB 6 will increase - not decrease - Ohioans electric bills. Ohioans have received over $7.06 billion in energy savings on their utility bills since 2009 thanks to utility-run efficiency programs per the efficiency standard.
TAKE ACTION: URGE YOUR LEGISLATORS TO FULLY REPEAL HB 6!
HB 6 bails two coal plants at a cost of $368 million, and one of those plants isn’t even in Ohio. HB 6 continuously bails out two coal plants jointly owned by the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC), one in Cheshire, OH and one in Madison, IN. The cost to ratepayers of AEP Ohio, Duke, and DP&L will be at least $368 million through 2030, heaping millions more in costs on Ohio families and businesses.
HB 6 will make Ohioans sick. If Ohio’s renewable energy and efficiency standards aren’t reinstated, Ohioans will experience dirtier air, and we won’t receive the projected health benefits that these standards provide—prevention of over 44,000 asthma attacks, 4,400 heart attacks, over 2,800 premature deaths and more—all attributable to coal-plant pollution.
HB 6 puts Ohions jobs at risk. Over 114,000 Ohioans work in the clean energy sector, including over 85,000 construction and manufacturing jobs. Additionally, it fails to create any new demand for clean energy projects or jobs moving into the future.
HB 6 contained lesser-known provisions that amount to $355 million more for FirstEnergy, on top of the nuclear bailout. HB 6 contained a poorly understood provision that changed a utility regulatory construct called a "decoupling mechanism." The provision has been implemented and may allow FirstEnergy to collect $355 million through 2024 -- and hundreds of millions more in later years -- from Ohio's electric ratepayers, including businesses and manufacturers.¹
HB 6 does not guarantee Ohio jobs at nuclear facilities are protected. While HB 6 subsidizes certain power plants, specifically the two nuclear facilities in Ohio, the legislation contained no requirement that the plants remain open or that employees would be protected.
HB 6 leaves Ohio behind in the booming global clean energy economy. Ohio has benefited greatly from participating in a competitive marketplace for energy generation, in which all resources compete on the same level playing field, and cleaner and more efficient resources rise to the top. HB 6 picks winners and losers by subsidizing only certain kinds of technologies.
HB 6 is a morally corrupt bill that Ohioans do not support². In a recent poll, without first disclosing any additional information, over half (55 percent) of Ohioans currently oppose HB 6 with 56 percent interested in its repeal before any new information is provided. After just one summary statement, both in support of and against HB 6, respondents move to 64 percent in favor of repeal. Only 28 percent of the total electorate remains in support of the existing legislation.
TAKE ACTION: URGE YOUR LEGISLATORS TO FULLY REPEAL HB 6!
1. See analysis.
2. EMC Research and the Tarrance Group conducted a poll from August 6 to August 11, funded in part by the OEC Action Fund.