A bill regulating submetered utility services is headed to Gov. Mike DeWine after lawmakers adopted changes sought by the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA), preserving manufacturers’ ability to use behind-the-meter energy resources.

House Bill 173 was intended to address residential submetering concerns, but OMA warned lawmakers that recently added language could have unintentionally swept in commercial and industrial customers. In testimony before the Senate Public Utilities Committee, John Seryak, energy engineer for OMA Energy Group, said the bill risked prohibiting or restricting manufacturers from constructing and submetering behind-the-meter projects and advanced energy resources on their own properties.

“Ohio manufacturers need more tools to manage rising energy costs, not new regulatory barriers to behind-the-meter generation and advanced energy resources,” Seryak said.

Seryak warned the language could have prevented existing commercial and industrial customers from adding behind-the-meter generation, including fuel cells, small modular reactors, solar facilities and batteries. OMA urged lawmakers to revise the definition of “submetered utility service” to ensure the bill did not undermine competitive markets, on-site generation or energy-efficiency investments.

Following OMA’s testimony, the bill was amended to address those concerns. The Senate passed the revised bill, and the House concurred in the Senate amendments, sending the measure to the governor for his signature.

The fix is an important win for manufacturers working to manage energy costs, improve reliability and invest in advanced energy resources without unnecessary regulatory barriers. 6/11/2026