Public Campaigns Begin For, Against Energy Bailout Bill

Opponents and proponents of House Bill 6 — the nuclear power bailout bill — are now doing battle on the public airwaves. The OMA opposes the bill, which is pending in the Ohio House.

This week, Americans for Prosperity started running a statewide radio ad on news/talk radio stations in opposition to the bailout bill. The group has said the measure would tax consumers through their monthly energy bills “in order to prop up politically favored companies.” The Ohio Consumer Power Alliance has also launched a radio ad campaign against the bill.

At the same time, Generation Now — a secretive political money group — is running a paid media campaign featuring both radio and TV spots, with more than $600,000 dedicated to broadcasting their pro-HB 6 message. This story by the Dayton Daily News examines the organization and its funding.

Also this week, Ohio State University economist Dr. Edward “Ned” Hill expressed strong opposition to HB 6 in his editorial published by Crain’s Cleveland Business. In his editorial, Dr. Hill wrote: “The bill will result in higher electricity generating and capacity charges for all Ohioans, deter investment in electricity generation not controlled by Ohio’s investor-owned utilities, lower the reliability of the state’s electric system and hurt economic development prospects.” 5/8/2019