COLUMBUS — “Although the standards will resume, Senate Bill 310, passed in 2014, made some notable changes in the law that remain in effect.
For starters, that law got rid of terms that said at least half of Ohio’s required renewable energy must come from in-state resources. Beyond that, another 2014 law that tripled property line setbacks for wind turbines could continue to have a limiting effect on renewable energy development in Ohio.
SB 310 also makes it easier for utilities to meet the energy efficiency standard. For example, they can count upgrades in transmission and distribution, even if those actions don’t cut customers’ energy usage and save them money. Utilities can also count energy savings achieved independently by customers towards their overall compliance with the target, even if the utilities played no part in creating those savings.
As a separate matter, SB 310 lets large industrial customers opt out of the energy efficiency standard. And although those customers are supposed to submit plans for achieving energy savings, the law says their load and usage are not counted in the baseline for calculating energy efficiency targets. Customers that benefit from discounted rates known as “reasonable arrangements” likewise don’t factor into that baseline.
That means the base of customers paying for utilities’ energy efficiency programs is smaller, and the overall energy savings required under the law would likewise be lower.”
— Kathiann M Kowalski, Midwest Energy News
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