Another Utility Bailout Proposed, Fast-Tracked

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate this week introduced identical legislation to bail out uneconomic power plants affiliated with the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC), which is owned by a consortium of utilities.

House Bill 239 is sponsored by Reps. Ryan Smith (R-Bidwell) and Rick Carfagna (Genoa Township). Senate Bill 155 is sponsored by Senators Lou Terhar (R-Green Township) and Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House).

The house bill immediately received a hearing signaling that the bill has been fast-tracked. The bill sponsors justified the subsidies to the unprofitable power plants in Ohio and Indiana “to preserve a national security generation resource”; the plants at one time served the now closed uranium enrichment facility in Piketon.

The customer cost of the subsidy is not yet available. The OMA is reviewing the legislation.  5/25/2017