COLUMBUS, OH - A bill being rushed through the Ohio Legislature during the lame duck session could cause residential and small business electric bills to skyrocket. Senate Bill 320 and House Bill 554 will reduce cost effective energy efficiency targets, and allow special rate exemptions for big corporations, resulting in untold rate increases.
“What is happening in Columbus right now is downright shameful,” stated Trish Demeter, Managing Director of Energy at the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund. “At a time when Ohio families and small businesses are gearing up for the holidays, politicians in Columbus are trying to sneak in another giveaway to their campaign contributors that will have an unknown impact on the electric bills of millions of Ohioans. The Ohio Legislature has a clear choice here - to stand up for Ohioans or vote to raise their electric bills.”
This legislation is just the latest in a string of unprecedented corporate handouts policymakers in Columbus have given to some of the state’s biggest corporate donors like FirstEnergy and AEP at the expense of their customers.
In October, FirstEnergy got a $600 million sweetheart deal to prop up its sagging credit rating. This half a billion dollar plus arrangement will be paid for entirely by FirstEnergy’s customers despite the fact that it was the company’s bad business bets that put them in this position.
Following FirstEnergy’s golden parachute, AEP received its own $348 million cash injection. And once again, it will be AEP’s customers who are stuck footing the bill.