COLUMBUS — “It’s been just six weeks since Gov. John Kasich vetoed a GOP bill that would have delayed for another two years mandates requiring power companies to sell an increasing percentage of renewable energy and help customers use less power.
Rep. Louis Blessing, III, R-Cincinnati, began circulating a memo to House members Monday seeking co-sponsors for new legislation reducing state green energy and energy efficiency requirements on power companies.
…The legislation Blessing has in mind would, according to his memo:
- Make renewable standards goals rather than mandates.
- Clarify the law so that all energy goals and standards would end in 2027.
- Change efficiency standard compliance to every three years rather than every year, meaning fewer reports to state regulators and more time to meet the annual benchmarks.
- Reduce the 22.5 percent final energy efficiency target of 2027 to 17.2 percent.
The bill would also allow all customers, including residential customers, to opt out of paying for either efficiency programs or power company charges connected with the renewable standards.
As expected, the bill does nothing to alter restrictive wind turbine standards lawmakers enacted in 2014 in an unrelated budget bill. The setback rules have prevented the building of new wind farms. ”
— John Funk, Cleveland Plain Dealer
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