News and Analysis
Even During COVID-19, More Power Producers Switching to Natural Gas
August 21, 2020The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that natural gas-fired generation in the lower 48 states increased nearly 9% in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019.
The monthly Henry Hub natural gas spot price, a benchmark for U.S. wholesale prices, averaged $1.81 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) through the first half of the year, compared with an average of $2.74/MMBtu one year earlier. 8/18/2020
House Bill 6 Aftershocks Continue
August 14, 2020Ned Hill, a professor at The Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs, recently joined a panel presentation at the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association to discuss state energy policy. Hill speculated on the need for transparent reforms in the wake of the House Bill 6 bribery scandal and called for PUCO reform, referring to Ohio’s regulatory process as “an insiders game.”
Meanwhile, HB 6 sponsor Rep. Jamie Callendar (R-Concord) has written an editorial defending the bailout and professing ignorance to the scheme. Rep. Callendar and others in the General Assembly continue to advocate for the policy behind the bailout, which requires Ohioans to subsidize investors — regardless of the corrupt process that brought HB 6 approval last year. 8/13/2020
Another Measure Introduced to Repeal HB 6
August 7, 2020This week, State Reps. Laura Lanese (R-Grove City) and David Greenspan (R-Westlake) introduced House Bill 746 to undo the nuclear power plant bailout and all other provisions of the bill.
Also this week, the OMA Vice President and Managing Director of Public Policy Services Ryan Augsburger discussed the importance of state energy policy and recent developments in Ohio as a guest on Lincoln Radio Journal’s “Capitol Watch,” moderated by Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association President David Taylor. 8/6/2020
More Than 100 U.S. Coal-Fired Plants Replaced or Converted to Natural Gas Since 2011
August 7, 2020According to newly published data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 121 U.S. coal-fired power plants — mostly in the eastern half of the country — were repurposed to burn other types of fuels between 2011 and 2019. Of these plants, 103 were converted to or replaced by natural gas-fired plants, including five plants in Ohio. 8/5/2020
OMA Committees Explore Energy Policy Reform
July 31, 2020A joint briefing of the OMA Energy Committee and Government Affairs Committee was held July 28 to address recent events surrounding former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who’s facing federal racketeering charges related to the nuclear bailout (House Bill 6) he pushed last year.
After hearing a summary of the federal complaint against Householder and four others — as well as a report on recent Statehouse activity following the charges — members reviewed the harmful provisions in HB 6 and discussed options to make Ohio’s energy law more transparent for the benefit of electric consumers.
OMA Government Affairs Committee Chair Scott Corbitt, region vice president for Anheuser-Busch, told nearly 125 attendees the association has the “opportunity to be transformational” in Ohio’s energy policy as lawmakers re-examine HB 6. OMA Energy Committee Chair Brad Belden, president of Belden Brick, thanked OMA members who testified against HB 6 during last year’s hearings and encouraged more members to get involved.
Email Ryan Augsburger, the OMA’s managing director of public policy services, to learn how you can take an active role in the reform efforts. 7/28/2020
What Are the Real Economics Around Ohio’s Two Nuclear Plants?
July 31, 2020Many Ohio lawmakers are clamoring to repeal and replace House Bill 6, the bailout for nuclear power plants. But what does that mean? Significant data was ignored by policymakers when the bill was rocketed through the legislative process just one year ago. Many anti-market provisions of the law were not well understood when HB 6 was debated.
A key reason for support of HB 6 was to protect the jobs and carbon-free generation of First Energy’s two nuclear generation plants. But the finances of the plants were never examined in the legislative process. Was there really a need for subsidies? Read more in this OMA memorandum. 7/30/2020
Bill Could Mitigate Nuke Plant Decommissioning Funds
July 31, 2020Before the Ohio House adjourned for summer recess, members approved House Bill 104, the Advanced Nuclear Technology Helping Energize Mankind (ANTHEM) Act. On July 21, as former Speaker Larry Householder was being arrested, the sponsor of HB 104 delivered testimony before the Senate Public Utilities Committee.
The bill is intended to spur research and development of largely unproven molten salt and thorium nuclear reactors. In doing so, HB 104 would establish an unwise and elaborate state agency that would take regulatory authority away from professional agencies — including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission — and instead place it under the Ohio Department of Commerce, which has no expertise in this arena. Moreover, the bill would empower bureaucrats at this new agency to act in the place of the governor in approving joint-development agreements.
The new agency would have some influence over nuclear plant decommissioning plans, according to an analysis prepared for the OMA. “Of special note is that Ohio’s two nuclear power plants are required to maintain decommissioning funds, and that whether their decommissioning plans were fully funded was a point of contention in the recent FirstEnergy Solutions (now Energy Harbor) bankruptcy.” 7/30/2020
Ohio a Top 10 State for Energy Production
July 31, 2020A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) shows Ohio ranked tenth in energy production in 2018, the latest year of data available. Check out the EIA’s 2018 primary energy production estimates for all states for both fossil fuels and renewables, as well as Ohio’s updated energy profile. 7/27/2020
U.S. Energy Use at 30-Year Low Due to Pandemic
July 31, 2020U.S. energy consumption dropped to its lowest level in more than 30 years this spring due to coronavirus-related shutdowns, according to a new report by the U.S. Energy Information Agency. Overall, U.S. energy consumption dropped 14% during April compared to a year earlier — the largest decrease since data collection began in 1973. 7/30/2020
House Bill 6: Why It’s Harmful to Ohio Manufacturers
July 24, 2020Nearly a year ago, state lawmakers approved House Bill 6 to provide guaranteed income — a bailout — to Ohio’s two nuclear power plants. The OMA opposed the measure due to its harmful economic impact on manufacturers, including the following provisions:
- $150 million a year in new subsidies for nuclear power from 2021 through 2026;
- An extension of subsidies for legacy, uneconomic coal plants in Indiana and Ohio, which will cost Ohioans tens of millions of dollars each year through 2030;
- $20 million a year for select solar power projects from 2021 through 2026; and
- Likely removes significant portions of Ohio generation and consumer load from competitive wholesale capacity auctions.
Other key reasons the OMA opposed HB 6 are in this memo documenting its impact on manufacturers. 7/24/2020