Columbus, OH — House Bill (HB) 128 was signed into law by Gov. DeWine yesterday. HB 128 repeals nuclear subsidies and requires a mechanism to refund money to ratepayers approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio; repeals significantly excessive earnings test (SEET) provisions that benefited FirstEnergy; and repeals the decoupling measure that allowed FirstEnergy to collect hundreds of millions of dollars from Ohio's electric consumers.
However, HB 128 does not repeal Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC) subsidies; does not reinstate Ohio’s renewable energy standards; and does not reinstate the state’s energy efficiency standards. Simply put, it does not repeal the portions of HB 6 most detrimental to Ohio’s environment.
The following statement on this news can be attributed in full or part to Miranda Leppla, Vice President of Energy Policy for the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund:
“HB 128 is merely a partial fix of the bad policies passed as part of the corrupt HB 6. It fails to address the worst environmental and health aspects of HB 6 that will continue to hurt Ohioans. We call on legislators to continue to push for full repeal of all of the pieces of this tainted legislation.
“While HB 128 is a step to help Ohio energy consumers, it fails to repeal coal plant subsidies, fails to restore cost-saving energy waste reduction programs, and ignores the artificial and unequal playing field for renewable energy in Ohio. We appreciate that legislators have repealed the obvious portions of HB 6 that were fueled by corporate greed, but the entirety of HB 6 is tainted by corruption and must be removed in full.
“The OEC Action Fund will continue to push for a full repeal of HB 6 that includes repeal of the subsidies for the coal plants and reinstating Ohio's renewable energy and energy efficiency standards to protect Ohioans’ health, wallets, and our environment.”
###