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Advocates Trying To Scratch "Opt Out" Piece From Energy Bill

Andy Chow
Ohio Senate debates the state’s renewable energy standards in December 2016. The legislature passed a bill to continue a freeze on those mandates but Kasich vetoed that measure. ";

A bill that would overhaul the way Ohio mandates the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency is likely to get a vote in the Senate this week. 

The bill would take the amount of renewable energy the state requires to be on the grid, and cut it by a third.

The measure gives more companies the ability to opt out of energy efficiency standards.

Robert Kelter with the Environmental Law and Policy Center says companies that opt out will end up spending more money on their electric bills which will have a ripple effect on all Ohioans.

“It would allow energy customers who really don’t have the knowledge or the expertise about energy efficiency to make the efficiency investments that they should be making,” said Kelter.

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce defends the opt out provision arguing that it allows companies to make energy decisions based on marketplace demands.

Contact Andy at achow@statehousenews.org.
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