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