Governor_Kasich_and_Senator_Portman_2011-01-03

Americans for Tax Reform applauds Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) for signing SB 310 into law last Friday.

Ohio, along with 29 other states and the District of Columbia, have expensive Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in place requiring that a certain percentage of energy come from renewable sources and mandates that citizens and businesses consume less electricity. Last month, ATR praised Ohio’s House of Representatives and Senate for passing SB 310, an energy bill that would freeze renewable energy standards.

The bill was passed by the Ohio Senate on May 7 by a vote of 21-12, and the Ohio House followed that up with a 55-42 vote on May 28. With Gov. Kasich’s signature, Ohio has become the first state to successfully pass legislation that puts a hold on the energy mandates that require the state to meet RPS requirements and that forces Ohioans to use less electricity. As ATR noted, other states are sure to follow suit, as meeting RPS requirements will become increasingly difficult and expensive.

SB 310 will sanction a two-year RPS pause while also suspending the forced electricity reduction mandate that is financed through high monthly customer surcharges. In addition, the bill will also create a commission to study the effects of these electricity mandates.

Before the passage of SB 310, it was required that 12.5% of electricity of sold in Ohio come from renewable sources by 2025. As laid out in the text SB 310, the new law freezes the renewable energy benchmarks for 2015 and 2016 at the 2014 level of 2.5%.

“We are pleased that Governor Kasich signed SB 310, protecting Ohio’s consumers and business owners from higher energy prices … these standards have proven to be unrealistic. Governor Kasich has done the right thing by providing a temporary freeze to these standards so that the economic well-being of our working families and businesses can be factored in before moving forward,” said Eli Miller, the Ohio State Director for Americans for Prosperity.

Although just a two-year hiatus, Ohio legislatures have taken the first step towards rectifying the expensive and unrealistic goals set by RPS requirements by signing SB 310 into law.  ATR supports Gov. Kasich in his mission to provide the citizens of Ohio with affordable and available energy.