Manufacturers are Ohio’s largest block of energy customers. That’s why the OMA devotes much time and focus to energy developments, including legislation and regulatory proceedings.
As part of its mission to protect and grow Ohio manufacturing, the OMA organizes an annual energy conference and offers members the opportunity to join the OMA Energy Group, which provides special services to energy-intense manufacturers.
Once they have joined the OMA Energy Management Community, members can count on the latest information and expert analysis and guidance regarding industrial energy solutions, regulations, and state and federal developments.
In a win for customers, the Supreme Court of Ohio recently decided that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) improperly offset future grid modernization investments when analyzing AES Ohio’s significantly excessive earnings test (SEET) for 2018 and 2019 instead of refunding the approximate $61.1 million in excessive earnings to the utility’s customers.
The Court directed the PUCO to conduct a new SEET analysis and order refunds accordingly. 8/27/2025
Last week, the OMA Energy Group initiated the appeals process at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), requesting their reconsideration of an unwise decision allowing for discriminatory ratemaking.
AEP Ohio, a regulated utility required to serve all customers fairly, imposed an unapproved moratorium on new data center developments and proposed a new rate class targeting energy-intensive customers like data centers, which was ultimately approved by the PUCO. The OMA Energy Group opposed this move, arguing that it sets a discriminatory precedent that could harm manufacturers in the future and disrupt Ohio’s competitive energy market. Especially of concern, the PUCO’s rationale for the special tariff is deeply flawed, based on overstated speculative load forecasts by AEP.
The OMA continues to advocate for market-based solutions grounded in competitive markets without unfairly targeting specific industries. Register for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference on September 18 to learn more about the data center tariff. 8/12/2025
PJM this week introduced and is seeking feedback on a preliminary proposal based on increased load forecasts.
The special arrangement, called non-capacity baked load, would be triggered only if generator supply is short of the reserve requirement for the capacity auction. In that case, PJM will ask for volunteers among new large loads over 50 MW to be curtailable, that is, the first thing curtailed on the network, even before demand response. In return, the large load would not have to pay for capacity. If PJM can’t get enough volunteers, it will require a portion of new large loads to be curtailable. It is unclear if this proposal will be able to meet PJM’s intent: speed up the interconnection of large loads and significantly reduce capacity prices. It is also not clear that PJM’s proposal addresses critiques from a coalition of manufacturers and consumer groups that utility load forecasts could be overestimated, are uncertain, and lack transparency. 8/20/2025
Early bird registration for the 2025 Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference ends today! The conference will be held on Thursday, September 18, at the Quest Conference Center in Westerville, OH. Register today to secure the Member Early Bird price of $125.
The conference will feature sessions covering retail choice and the future of utility oversight, how to manage rising electricity costs, updates on Ohio energy policy, and the facts on Ohio’s electric transmission system. Register today! 8/12/2025
The legislature’s comprehensive energy reform bill, House Bill 15, became effective on Thursday this week. The OMA-supported legislation included the repeal of subsidies for uneconomical power plants in southern Ohio and Indiana, a repeal of above-market charges, also known as “riders,” on customers’ power bills, and increased utility transparency in the form of energy “heat maps” that utilities will be required to publish.
Learn more about House Bill 15 and how it harnesses the power of competitive markets to attract generation at the Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference on September 18. Register today! 8/12/2025
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) recently approved AEP Ohio’s request to create a special Data Center Tariff, over manufacturers’ objections.
AEP and the PUCO claimed minimum demand provisions in the tariff were needed to protect other customers from cost shifts, yet provided no analysis to back their claims and rejected expert testimony to the contrary. OMA’s expert witness testified that AEP’s tariff could do the opposite, saying it could “create several billion dollars in new costs to customers.”
In a recent earnings call, AEP explained the minimum demand provisions of its tariffs are driving up revenues: “Higher peak demand, coupled with the contractual minimums built into the latest tariff provisions, predominantly in Indiana, are driving up revenues.” 8/12/2025
Recently, Aspire Energy Express LLC announced that it had entered into a natural gas transportation agreement with an AEP subsidiary, AEP Development Services LLC, for Aspire Energy Express to construct and operate a natural gas pipeline in central Ohio to help AEP Ohio power two data centers.
On July 21st, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio staff issued a report recommending that the Commission approve the arrangement. It is not clear that AEP Development Services qualifies as a public utility and is able to enter into this agreement under Ohio law.
Additionally, the arrangement raises concerns about the separation of corporate power infrastructure services, which will be necessary for supplying large loads, such as data centers. 8/5/2025
One of the key OMA-supported provisions included in House Bill 15, passed by the Ohio General Assembly earlier this year, is the repeal of subsidies that Ohioans have been forced to pay to utility ownership of two uncompetitive and uneconomic OVEC power plants. In all, Ohio ratepayers subsidized more than $683 million dollars in losses for OVEC’s operations.
The OMA’s energy engineering consultant, RunnerStone LLC, has calculated that the elimination of the rider is estimated to save Ohioans over $400 million through 2030.
Register today for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference held on September 18 to learn more about the impact of House Bill 15, among many other topics. 8/5/2025
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to revisit the racketeering conviction of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, rejecting requests for a review from the full slate of judges. The appeals court panel determined that the issues raised in Householder’s petition were fully considered in his original request.
A three-judge panel previously upheld their conviction of Householder for his participation in a pay-to-play scheme that traded political contributions from FirstEnergy for the bailout of two nuclear plants. 7/28/2025
Reuters this week reported on the fading boom for U.S. clean energy, attributing the dip to “a U-turn” in policy positions by the Trump administration. The article quotes research firm Wood Mackenzie, which forecasts solar and wind installations could be 17% and 20% lower than previously forecast.
Another research firm, Rhodium, said the Trump policies put at risk $263 billion of wind, solar, and storage facilities. “The Trump administration has defended its moves to end support for clean energy by arguing the rapid adoption of solar and wind power has created instability in the grid and raised consumer prices – assertions that are contested by the industry and which do not bear out in renewables-heavy power grids, like Texas ERCOT.”
Plan to attend the OMA Manufacturers’ Energy Conference on Sept 18 to gain insights into these and other important energy topics.7/30/2025
On July 22nd, PJM published the results of the latest capacity auction for the 2026/27 delivery year, resulting in a historically high price of $329.17/MW-day, a substantial increase from the 2025/26 auction of $269.92/MW-day, and hitting the maximum of a newly established cap. The cap will remain in place for the next auction before expiring. The auction will cost customers in PJM a total of $16.1B in the 2026/27 delivery year, up from $2.2B in the 2024/25 delivery year.
In a letter to grid operator PJM Interconnection’s leadership last week, the OMA expressed concern that poor oversight and a lack of transparency at PJM are driving up electricity costs for Ohio customers without improving reliability. Given the recent auction results, capacity charges paid for by customers will now total nearly $31 billion over the next two years—more than the previous 6 years combined. Yet, the interconnection backlog and capacity auction delays by PJM persist.
The OMA released a statement following the results of the auction urging PJM to implement faster connection of generation, resume regular three-year auctions, and utilize transparent load forecasting. 7/23/2025
This week, reporting from Cleveland.com’s Jeremy Pelzer found that years after the House Bill 6 scandal, Ohio’s Public Utilities Commission (PUCO) continues to face scrutiny over claims it pressures outside auditors to soften reports critical of utilities. Testimony and documents show PUCO staff have urged auditors to dilute or delete findings regarding companies such as FirstEnergy, AEP Ohio, and Duke Energy, often before reports are made public.
Allegations echo issues tied to former PUCO chair Sam Randazzo, accused of taking millions in bribes from FirstEnergy before his death in 2023.
Audits in question involve hundreds of millions in customer charges, from grid modernization fees to subsidies for aging coal plants. 7/21/2025
Early bird registration is open for the 2025 Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference! The conference will be held on Thursday, September 18, at the Quest Conference Center in Westerville, OH. Register today to secure the Member Early Bird price of $125.
The conference will feature sessions covering retail choice and the future of utility oversight, how to manage rising electricity costs, updates on Ohio energy policy, and the facts on Ohio’s electric transmission system. Register today! 7/15/2025
In a letter to grid operator PJM Interconnection’s leadership this week, the OMA expressed concern that poor oversight and a lack of transparency at PJM are driving up electricity costs for Ohio customers without improving reliability. Capacity charges will jump by $12 billion in the 2025/26 delivery year, yet the interconnection backlog and auction delays by PJM persist.
In the letter, the OMA cites years of missed opportunities, flawed forecasts, and failure to hold utilities accountable, all of which have left manufacturers and ratepayers footing the bill. As PJM considers new leadership next year, the OMA has asked that they take responsibility for supporting competitive markets and put their electric customers first. 7/16/2025
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) this week approved a new AEP Ohio rate structure specifically targeting large data centers with loads exceeding 25 megawatts.
The decision, aimed at addressing transmission capacity concerns, imposes higher minimum demand charges, exit fees, and collateral requirements on data center customers.
The OMA pushed back on the decision in a statement, arguing that the tariff is discriminatory, lacks sufficient evidence, and will discourage business investment in Ohio. The OMA is evaluating options to appeal the decision.
Although the PUCO ordered AEP to lift its moratorium on new service connections, it made few changes to the proposed tariff, raising concerns about fairness and transparency. 7/10/2025
Grid operator PJM Interconnection’s capacity prices for the 2025/2026 delivery year, which began in June 2025, have surged significantly compared to previous years, and manufacturers will see resulting increases to their power bills over the summer.
The OMA has critiqued PJM’s delays to its capacity auction to procure new power generation, as timely auctions are critical to secure new plants to replace retiring power plants. The auction delays combined with questionable capacity market changes by PJM and PJM’s backlogged interconnection queue for new generation, rated among the nation’s worst, have all contributed to the increases.
The OMA has recorded a presentation with information that manufacturers can use during this critical time featuring John Seryak, OMA’s Energy Engineer, and Susanne Buckley with Scioto Energy to explain what contributed to the spike in charges and what manufacturers can do to help manage their increased power bills.
Stay tuned for more coverage on this topic and others critical to the manufacturing industry, to be highlighted at the upcoming 2025 Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference on Thursday, September 18. Registration opening soon! 7/10/2025
Former Speaker Householder, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for his role in the House Bill 6 bribery scheme, is asking the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider his failed appeal. Householder argues that the panel of judges should not have rejected his appeal earlier this year.
In Householder’s case, the judges previously concluded that the evidence presented was more than enough to show a quid pro quo. 7/1/2025
On June 23rd, PJM successfully served the region’s highest electricity demand in more than ten years, with regional grid load peaking at 160,526 MW. The extreme weather broke over 600 high-temperature records across the U.S. In Columbus, temperatures reached the mid-90s with the heat index near 105.
Early this week, PJM issued Maximum Generation, Load Management and Hot Weather alerts through Thursday, June 26th. These alerts are tools PJM uses to meet demand at a lower cost compared to requiring the construction of new power plants.
While some demand response resources were activated elsewhere across PJM’s 13-state footprint, no demand response was called within any Ohio zone, indicating that generation was able to meet demand without curtailment or emergency measures. Manufacturers have a direct stake in grid performance during these events, as shortfalls could impact operations and lead to costly infrastructure investments. 6/24/2025
U.S. Senator Jon Husted and U.S. Representative Bob Latta have introduced the Nuclear REFUEL Act to simplify licensing requirements for nuclear recycling facilities as a way to boost U.S. nuclear energy production.
Currently, the United States doesn’t recycle nuclear fuel at a commercial scale. The Nuclear REFUEL Act would establish a streamlined Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing procedure for nuclear fuel recycling facilities. 6/24/2025
Representatives of the OMA have presented testimony in an ongoing trial examining the public corruption culminating in House Bill 6 in 2019 that required captive utility customers to subsidize utilities and select energy companies for unneeded power plants and other corrupt mechanisms.
This week, lawyers for defendant FirstEnergy have made repeated motions to prevent the OMA witness from being heard in an effort to head off the allegations of wrongdoing. The OMA team will continue to advance manufacturers’ interests. Read more in Gongwer News. 6/24/2025
For more information on the OMA’s Energy Management Community, get in touch with us today.
