Ohio got rid of direct subsidies for electric generation last August, including by ending two controversial subsidies that went to aging coal-fired power plants.
But how neighboring states bankroll coal or other generation still affects Ohio, since the state is among 13 others within PJM Interconnection, the regional electric grid.
The Citizens Utility Board of Ohio is arguing that many aging facilities, most of them coal-fired, might be raising costs for electric customers across the region because of “uneconomic operations.”
“Ohio maybe got its own affairs in order, but it belongs to a league with 12 other teams,” Executive Director Tom Bullock said Monday. “And the commissioner of the league, in this case PJM, doesn’t necessarily have the right tool sets.”
Those “uneconomic operations” vary, but include some cost-recovery mechanisms, like through self-scheduling, or when a power plant runs even if it isn’t economical.
“Distortions now that might be perpetuated in neighboring states, or even 1 or 2 states away, will come back,” said Dan Cross-Call, a director at Current Energy Group.
Current Energy Group generated the analysis for the Citizens Utility Board.
