Energy

Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) President Ryan Augsburger will challenge the assumptions behind rising electricity costs today during the City Club of Cleveland’s Future of Energy in Ohio forum. Beginning at noon, the discussion will bring competing perspectives on utility accountability, grid reliability and the financial risks associated with Ohio’s projected data center boom before a statewide audience.

Augsburger will join representatives from FirstEnergy and the Ohio Business Roundtable for a discussion moderated by City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop. Augsburger will press for greater scrutiny of utility electricity demand forecasts, examine how PJM’s regional electricity market is driving higher costs and question why existing customers should bear the financial risk of infrastructure investments tied to speculative growth.

“Manufacturers make major investment decisions all the time, and they don’t get to pass the bill to someone else when their projections are wrong,” said Lindsey Short, OMA’s managing director of advocacy and energy services. “Yet that’s effectively what we’re allowing utilities to do. If utilities want customers to pay for billions in new infrastructure, they should have to prove the demand exists and explain who’s responsible when it doesn’t.”

The forum is open to everyone via livestream beginning at noon. 10/23/2026

Ohio manufacturers are already paying more for electricity. Now, speculative data center demand and proposals for new power infrastructure threaten to push costs even higher, leaving existing customers exposed to billions in potential financial risk.

With critical decisions approaching in the General Assembly’s lame duck session and at PJM, OMA’s Energy Committee will meet Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 10 a.m. to noon to examine the proposals, their potential costs and what’s being done to protect manufacturers.

“Ohio manufacturers should not be writing blank checks for electricity demand that may never materialize,” said Lindsey Short, OMA managing director of advocacy and energy services. “We need credible forecasts, real financial commitments from large new customers and an energy market that rewards competition instead of shifting risk onto everyone already paying the bills.”

The agenda will focus on potential legislation affecting data center tariffs, OMA’s push for greater transparency and accountability in utility load forecasts, and PJM’s proposed reliability backstop procurement process. Members will get an inside look at the policy debates, the financial risks and OMA’s efforts to ensure new demand pays for new demand.

The meeting will also celebrate 116 years of OMA advocacy on behalf of Ohio manufacturing, followed by a networking lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Members can attend at OMA’s Columbus offices or virtually via Zoom.

Register here to participate. 10/23/2026

Ohio’s fight over discriminatory electricity tariffs could have consequences far beyond the state’s borders. The OMA Energy Group’s (OMAEG) challenge to AEP Ohio’s data center tariff is before the Ohio Supreme Court, with the outcome potentially influencing how utilities and regulators nationwide establish rates for large electricity customers.

RTO Insider examines the case and its national implications, including concerns that utilities could single out specific industries for different rate treatment without demonstrating corresponding differences in service costs. OMAEG’s challenge focuses on protecting manufacturers from discriminatory rates while ensuring that new electricity demand bears the costs it creates.

“Data centers should pay for the infrastructure their demand requires, and existing customers should be protected from those costs,” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. “But protecting customers cannot become an excuse for utilities to impose discriminatory rates without demonstrating that those differences are justified. If that precedent stands, manufacturers could be next.”

The dispute also carries legislative implications as Ohio lawmakers consider House Bill 646, which OMAEG warns could write the contested tariff approach into state law. With similar debates unfolding across the country, the Supreme Court’s eventual decision could establish an important precedent for how utilities treat energy-intensive industries, making the stakes especially significant for Ohio’s manufacturing economy. 10/19/2026

This week, PJM issued a Capacity Advisory for Oct. 12–14 and escalated to a Maximum Generation Alert and Load Management Alert on Oct. 13, while recalling planned maintenance outages for Oct. 14. PJM attributed the tight conditions to unusually warm fall weather coinciding with significant planned generation and transmission outages, with roughly 62,000 megawatts of generation outages expected during the affected period. Outages of this scale are common for traditional thermal power generation during the fall season.

The U.S. Department of Energy also issued an emergency order for Oct. 13–16 that temporarily expands PJM’s ability to access additional generation, including, under specified emergency conditions, backup generators at data centers and other large commercial and industrial facilities. Ohio manufacturers participating in PJM’s demand response program may have been called to curtail this week during the alerts. 10/15/2026

Billions of dollars in transmission investments could be on the line as utilities prepare for projected data center demand that may never materialize. AEP Ohio maintains that its existing tariff protects customers from those risks, but significant questions remain about who ultimately pays when forecasts fall short and whether its protections go far enough.

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) has repeatedly warned that financial commitments from data center developers do not necessarily protect existing customers from the full costs of infrastructure built to accommodate those projects. OMA’s agreement with AES Ohio takes a different approach, emphasizing upfront financial responsibility for infrastructure investments driven by new demand rather than exposing existing customers to costs that developers fail to cover.

The distinction is becoming increasingly important as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considers new requirements governing large electricity loads and transmission cost allocation. AEP’s existing tariff should not automatically become the benchmark for federal protections simply because it is already in place. Any new standard must be judged by how effectively it assigns costs and financial risks to the customers responsible for creating them.

“AEP doesn’t get to set the standard just because it got there first,” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services for the OMA. “FERC needs to determine what actually protects existing customers, not simply validate what’s already on the books. When data center forecasts don’t materialize, manufacturers shouldn’t be stuck paying for infrastructure somebody else demanded.”

With billions in potential infrastructure investments at stake, the consequences of getting those rules wrong could extend decades beyond the original forecasts. Existing customers should not become the financial backstop for speculative electricity demand. New demand should pay for new demand. 10/8/2026

FERC has directed PJM to revise and delay its proposed Reliability Backstop Procurement, raising concerns about whether the special capacity procurement would properly assign costs to the large loads driving the need for new power.

The commission delayed the procurement for five months and said PJM must do more to ensure costs are allocated to the customers responsible for creating them. FERC also questioned PJM’s proposed collateral requirements and directed the grid operator to use more current load forecasts when determining how costs are assigned.

“FERC is asking the right questions about who is driving these costs and who should be responsible for paying them,” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services at the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA). “Existing customers should not become the backstop for speculative load growth. Better forecasting and clear cost responsibility have to come first.”

The order keeps the backstop procurement alive while putting two issues OMA has repeatedly emphasized at the center of the debate. Forecasts need to reflect demand that is likely to materialize, and new demand should bear the costs it creates. 9/30/2026

This week, Reps. David Thomas and Tristan Rader introduced the bipartisan Ohio Power Outage Relief Act, which would require electric distribution utilities to provide bill credits and reimburse customers for certain losses tied to qualifying prolonged or repeated outages.

The bill arrives as Ohio customers continue to face concerns about both electric reliability and affordability.

“Ohio customers should not have to choose between reliable power and affordable power,” said Lindsey Short, Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) managing director of advocacy and energy services. “Utilities should be accountable for the service they provide, and any reliability solution should be judged by whether it actually improves the system without simply pushing more costs onto customers.”

OMA continues to push for greater scrutiny of utility load forecasts, stronger oversight of transmission spending and protections against shifting the costs of new large loads onto existing customers, all with the goal of improving reliability without piling more costs onto Ohio businesses and families. 9/23/2026

PJM called on demand response resources Sept. 17 as generator and transmission outages combined with unusually warm weather in the southern part of its footprint.

The event stood out because it came on a relatively mild September day in much of Ohio, raising fresh questions about how much operating margin exists when parts of the system are unavailable.

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) Energy Group is reviewing the event and gathering feedback from manufacturers that were asked to interrupt production. Members with information about how the call affected their operations are encouraged to contact Nick Miller at OMA.

“Manufacturers can help us understand what this event looked like on the ground,” Miller said. “If you were asked to curtail load or interrupt production, we want to hear what happened, how much notice you received and what the operational impact was. That information helps us make the case for a system that works better for the companies depending on it.”

OMA continues to focus on reliability, system planning and the costs manufacturers bear when the grid is strained. What happened Sept. 17 gives manufacturers another real-world example of why those issues matter. 9/18/2026

Last week, the OMA Energy Group and others urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to strengthen regulatory oversight of supplemental transmission projects, which can be approved with limited review while their costs are ultimately recovered from customers. With transmission spending in Ohio now exceeding $3 billion annually, the OMA has emphasized that customers should not be expected to provide a blank check for transmission spending.

Meaningful regulatory oversight, transparency, and stakeholder review are necessary to ensure projects are truly needed, costs are reasonable, and utilities are held accountable before hundreds of millions of dollars in additional transmission investments are passed through to Ohio manufacturers and other customers. 9/16/26

Photos from the 2026 Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference are now available, capturing both the Aug. 26 welcome reception and the Aug. 27 conference, with candid moments from speakers, members and conversations throughout the two-day event.

“The conversations we started at the Energy Conference are continuing well beyond the event itself,” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services at the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. “Manufacturers are asking tough questions about what is driving their energy costs and who is being asked to carry the risk. We intend to keep pushing for answers.”

View the full photo gallery and look back at highlights from both days. 9/10/2026

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association has spent months challenging the assumptions behind massive electricity demand forecasts and the billions of dollars in customer costs that can follow. Now that scrutiny is getting national attention, PJM is attacking the messenger.

In a new Canary Media report on questionable data center forecasts and Ohio power bills, PJM Executive Vice President Asim Haque called OMA’s position “naive and irresponsible.”

“If PJM is confident in these forecasts, then show the work,” said Lindsey Short, OMA managing director of advocacy and energy services. “Show us which projects are actually committed, when they are expected to come online and what happens to customers if those projections miss. Billions of dollars are on the line. Customers should not be forced to finance PJM’s assumptions.”

Haque’s choice of words is especially rich in Ohio. As former PUCO chair, he was involved in approving a FirstEnergy charge that ultimately cost customers roughly $456 million before the Ohio Supreme Court struck it down. In subsequently disclosed texts, Haque wrote that he knew the charge would “likely be found illegal” and that FirstEnergy would keep the money because it could not be refunded. Haque later said he was joking.

Forecast assumptions are already influencing capacity requirements, transmission spending and customer bills before much of the projected demand has materialized.

Calling OMA naive does not answer the questions. PJM still has to show its work. 9/9/2026

Ohio manufacturers gathered in Beachwood on Wednesday for a wide-ranging discussion on rising electricity costs, grid reliability and the decisions reshaping the energy market.

Ryan Augsburger, president of the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, joined Chris Phalen, vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, and Andrew Barth, principal at Environ Energy, for the roundtable, which focused on the forces driving costs higher and what manufacturers should be watching next.

“Manufacturers are trying to make long-term decisions while the costs, forecasts and rules around energy keep moving underneath them,” Augsburger said. “We need much more discipline around what gets built, why it gets built and who is expected to pay for it. Those questions have real consequences for companies deciding whether their next investment happens in Ohio.”

The discussion gave manufacturers a chance to press beyond the headlines and dig into what changing energy markets, policy decisions and infrastructure investments could mean for their plants, their budgets and their next round of investment. 9/9/2026

Ohio manufacturers had the opportunity Thursday afternoon to take their energy concerns directly to U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno.

Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) President Ryan Augsburger joined OMA energy counsel Kim Bojko, John Seryak, OMA energy engineer, and manufacturers from around the state for a discussion focused on PJM, rising electricity costs and the need for greater scrutiny of the demand forecasts driving major energy investments and customer costs.

“PJM and utilities are making enormous decisions based on forecasts that may or may not become real,” said Lindsey Short, OMA managing director of advocacy and energy services. “That is not good enough when manufacturers are the ones being asked to absorb the cost. We need much tougher scrutiny up front and much stronger proof that the demand is actually there.”

The discussion took place ahead of the Energy Affordability Summit and gave manufacturers a direct opportunity to share what they are seeing on the ground with federal leaders shaping the energy debate.

“Meetings like this are exactly why OMA exists,” Augsburger said. “Our members should have a direct voice with the people making decisions that affect their costs, investments and ability to grow. Bringing manufacturers into the room helps turn policy debates into a conversation about what is actually happening across Ohio.” 9/3/2026

If you missed two of the biggest conversations at the 2026 Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference, now is your chance to catch up.

Dr. Jonathan Koomey opened the day by taking a hard look at the data center demand forecasts now driving some of the biggest decisions in the electricity market. His challenge was uncomfortable and increasingly important. How much of the projected load is actually real, and how much should customers be expected to pay before anyone can prove it?

Abhijeet Sathe of SB Energy closed the conference from the other end of the spectrum, laying out the scale and ambition behind the planned PORTS Technology Campus in southern Ohio and what it takes to pair enormous new demand with real generation, infrastructure and investment.

“Jonathan challenged us to scrutinize what is being forecast, while Abhijeet showed us what it looks like when somebody is prepared to put real investment behind real demand,” said Lindsey Short, Ohio Manufacturers’ Association managing director of advocacy and energy services. “That distinction matters enormously when billions of dollars in future energy costs are on the line.”

One talk questioned the assumptions. The other showed what committed growth can look like.

Both are worth watching. 9/4/2026

Apparently, asking who checked the math has some legs.

Coverage coming out of last week’s Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference landed on the front page of the Columbus Dispatch on Monday and the Dayton Daily News on Tuesday, putting manufacturers’ concerns about data center electricity forecasts and rising customer costs in front of readers across Ohio.

The Dayton Daily News did not exactly bury the point. Its front-page headline read, “OMA fears data center energy needs not understood.”

“We wanted people asking harder questions about these forecasts, and now they are,” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. “When the potential price tag is measured in billions, ‘trust the forecast’ is not good enough. Customers deserve to know what is real before they are asked to pay for it.”

Two front pages later, it looks like plenty of people are asking the same question. 9/1/2026

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) debuted a new video at this week’s Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference highlighting the work of the OMA Energy Group (OMAEG) and the companies and experts behind it.

The OMAEG is a buy-up opportunity for OMA members, created specifically to give manufacturers a direct voice in Ohio’s utility regulatory process before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

As OMAEG expert John Seryak puts it in the video, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

That seat at the table comes with serious expertise. The OMAEG is supported by experienced utility regulatory counsel and a respected energy engineering firm, giving participating companies added leverage as decisions affecting electricity costs and reliability are made.

Watch the new video to hear from OMAEG participants and experts about why manufacturers cannot afford to sit out the decisions shaping their energy future. Interested in joining the OMAEG? Email Lindsey Short to learn more. 8/27/2026