Cleveland.com has spotlighted controversial language added to the state budget to allow utility companies to charge customers hundreds of millions of dollars to build infrastructure for speculative economic development. The story breaks down the potential costs to customers and quotes OMA President Ryan Augsburger, who notes that the provisions would increase customers’ bills and erode consumer protections. This week, the OMA issued a statement urging lawmakers to remove the utility language from the final budget plan. See this brief document for an explanation of the provisions. 6/29/2023