OMA Opposes Latest Utility Ratemaking Bill

The OMA has long advocated for eliminating Ohio’s Electric Security Plans (ESP) ratemaking process, which has produced a windfall for electric utilities. Utilities and their supporters in the Statehouse have opposed such reform, as highlighted by a bill currently before the Ohio Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee.

Senate Bill 102, which received a second hearing this week, would continue Ohio’s above-market electricity charges while reducing customer protections. (A similar measure, House Bill 317, failed to garner adequate support late last year, largely due to OMA opposition.)

The OMA has published this three-page analysis of SB 102, concluding the bill would continue to award utilities with excessive profits while upending the traditional ratemaking process for all regulated utilities.

The OMA opposes SB 102 and encourages lawmakers to introduce language similar to 2017 legislation that would have repealed the ESP ratemaking process. 5/23/2023