Energy In the News

By Jim Siegel

As his staff members staffers drop reminders that his energy bill has been pending in the legislature for 128 days, Gov. Ted Strickland has offered Republican House leaders a 12-page list of what he calls "common-ground energy suggestions."

Strickland, who has been pushing House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, to move on the energy bill, addresses a variety of issues, including a main point of contention between the two leaders: when electricity producers should be allowed to enter an unregulated market.

The governor is proposing 10 criteria that a utility must meet before it can go to market in 10 years. Some have knocked his current bill, which has passed the Senate, arguing that it left the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio too much leeway in determining competitive market conditions.

"The governor thinks it's important that utilities don't automatically go to market, largely because the state is in a period of transition," said Keith Dailey, spokesman for Strickland. "Of course, that's all rooted in avoiding these excessive price spikes."

Strickland's ideas drew a sharp reaction from the Alliance for Real Energy Options, a group of third-party electricity providers that argues he is favoring large power users over residential and commercial consumers.

"Northern Ohio electric consumers can't wait another 10 ten years for lower prices," said Alliance Chairman Lynn Olman, adding that data show that "northern Ohio electric rates are well above rates now available in the competitive marketplace. We can have lower prices now. Why should we wait?"

Husted spokeswoman Karen Stivers said yesterday that the speaker had not yet looked at Strickland's suggestions.

In addition to changing market conditions, Strickland also wants to:

• Scrap Husted's plan to use future renewable-energy income-tax revenue to fund additional research and development in that industry. The governor said the only source of funding for the new Ohio Renewable Energy Authority should come from fines collected from utilities.
• Push back annual benchmarks that utilities must meet to reach a goal of 25 percent energy production from renewable and advanced sources by 2025. Husted would start those benchmarks in 2009; Strickland would push them back to 2015.
• Allow the PUCO to waive a particular year's benchmark if the cost of advanced energy would increase customer energy bills more than 3 percent.

Environmental groups and renewable-energy advocates criticized Strickland's suggestions.

"In order to achieve the crucial economic and environmental benefits that developing Ohio's wind and solar power has to offer, we believe that a slow and steady annual ramp-up is necessary to achieve success," said Erin Bowser, director of Environment Ohio.

The Ohio Manufacturers' Association called Strickland's latest proposal a "good-faith effort to reach a compromise."

"The governor's plan calls for much-needed flexibility in meeting the benchmarks for advanced and renewable energy," said Eric Burkland, president of the association.

"To attract and expand green-collar jobs in our state, Ohio manufacturers need sufficient time to stock the supply chain with bearings, steel, glass, polymers and other component parts used in these emerging industries.