Photo Provided Ohio Sen. Brian Chavez speaks at the Statehouse in support of his proposed energy policy.

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Senate last week unanimously passed House Bill 15, based in large part upon previous legislation (Senate Bill 2) spearheaded by Senate Energy Committee Chairman Sen. Brian Chavez, R-Marietta, and designed to become a new 21st Century power policy that would produce reliable and affordable power for the entire state.

“This is sweeping energy reform to boldly lead Ohio in a business forward approach, which is vital to our infrastructure, workforce, and economy,” said Chavez. “This watershed legislation is a giant step toward producing reliable and affordable energy for generations to come.

“Importantly,” Chavez added, “this bill will reduce barriers for the generation of new power. That will increase the flow of investments into the state, stimulate job creation and economic development, and make Ohio an even more attractive state for industries to do business.”

The House legislation will still accomplish the main goals envisioned by Chavez. It will energize and maximize Ohio’s power industry by putting the focus on projects that generate baseload power, which is the demand needed to power homes, businesses, and industry across the state every day. Additionally, the bill promotes “behind the meter” generation where industries generate their own power and reduce stress on the electric grid.

Chavez says Ohio is now well positioned to contribute baseload power, in part due to the significant supply of clean natural gas as a reliable and affordable fuel source. HB 15 keeps intact three major provisions from SB 2 that are essential to promoting new energy generation:

It incentivizes new baseload generation projects by reducing the tangible personal property tax (TPP) on new electricity generation projects and the infrastructure associated with those projects by about 67% starting in Tax Year 2027.

The bill also provides additional accountability to consumers by repealing Electric Security Plans (ESPs), also known as “riders.” This has been a way to charge consumers more without necessarily making the case for why an energy company needed additional funds. The ESPs will be replaced by a fundamental change in the way rates are set. The utility company will be required to fully disclose its financials to the Public Utility Commission every three years before a rate increase would be approved. Utilities will be allowed to continue investing in grid reliability by forecasting expenses for the intervening period but would be required to true up to actual expenses.

HB 15 also repeals all rate payer subsidies for power generation, among other worthwhile provisions.

The bill now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature.