Columbus, Ohio — At Wednesday’s Columbus City Council hearing on the Community Choice Aggregation preferred supplier presentation, the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) Action Fund provided testimony in support of the city’s plans to go 100% renewable if voters approve Issue 1 on the ballot in November.
OEC Action Fund previously testified in front of Columbus City Council in support of this effort. This summer, members of City Council approved legislation that placed Community Choice Aggregation on the November ballot. Last week, the city announced the preferred supplier at a press conference.
The primary goals identified by the City for the aggregation program are to: (1) provide competitive retail energy supply costs for Columbus citizens and small businesses; (2) support renewable energy development, especially local renewable energy generation, to advance Columbus’ sustainable economy; and (3) to ensure that energy supplier(s) provide quality, reliable service and first-rate customer service.
The following statement can be attributed to Heather Taylor-Miesle, President of the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) Action Fund:
“The OEC Action Fund is excited to see the aggregation process continuing to move forward, and we look forward to working with the City and AEP Energy to ensure this aggregation program puts Ohio’s capital city on the clean energy map—driving demand for local renewable energy development, creating good-paying local jobs, and moving aggressively to address climate change.
“At a time when federal and state policy makers are rolling back clean energy standards, Ohioans are looking for leadership at the local level to create jobs and transition our energy production to 100 percent clean energy. By voting yes on Issue 1 this November, Columbus residents can use their collective voice to say we choose clean energy over dirty sources of energy, and we want the clean energy jobs of today and tomorrow to grow right here in our city.”