OMA Testifies to Eliminate OVEC Subsidies

This week, Brad Belden, president of The Belden Brick Company and chair of the OMA Energy Committee, testified on behalf of the OMA in support of Senate Bill 117 — legislation to repeal House Bill 6’s $700 million ratepayer-funded subsidy for two Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC) coal plants, one of which is in Indiana. The bill would also refund customers the charges borne since HB 6 took effect.

The OMA has been on the frontlines advocating for the repeal of anti-customer provisions included in HB 6 including, the nuclear subsidies and decoupling provision. The OVEC subsidies are one of the last pieces of HB 6’s anti-market policy that remains in law. Customers will be on the hook for these subsidies through 2030 without action by state lawmakers. 5/13/2021