Columbus -- Today, several groups testified in support of a bill to bail out nuclear power plants, which would cost consumers millions more each year on their electric bills. This bill would gut money-saving efficiency programs, throttle investments in wind and solar projects, and hurt hard-working Ohioans.
“Ohioans should not have to pay the millions of dollars it would cost to support these aging nuclear power plants, while our legislators gut the renewable and efficiency programs that have saved Ohioans money every year for the past decade and have driven job growth across our state,” said Miranda Leppla, Vice-President of Energy Policy for the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund. “Ohioans work hard for their paychecks, and their money should be put toward renewable energy and efficiency programs, which have already created over 112,000 jobs in Ohio and have the potential to create tens of thousands more. Although today several entities testified that bailing out the nuclear plants would save jobs, there are hundreds of thousands of Ohioans opposing this bill who were unable to testify in support of the energy efficiency and renewables standards that this same bill would jeopardize. Our clean energy economy continues to drive job growth at a much faster pace than the rest of Ohio’s economy, and we should be protecting all workers, not just a select few. Ohioans in the clean energy economy were too busy working for the money needed to pay for their electric bills,” Leppla explained.
“Meanwhile, a dark money group has already spent as much as $2.7 million on false and misleading advertising that attempts to take Ohioans’ hard-earned money. At the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund, we stand with those who oppose House Bill 6. We hope Ohio legislators vote no and create a healthier Ohio for our children and thousands of good paying jobs from renewable energy,” said Leppla.