utilities

The AEP headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. The utility’s disconnection rate was more than twice that of other Ohio utilities over the past year. (Credit: Creative Commons.)

Ohio disconnection data still lacks detail on racial disparities

BY: - September 14, 2023

Consumer advocates still lack access to data that would let them determine the extent of any racial disparities in Ohio utility shutoffs for customers’ failure to pay gas and electric bills. Information about what share of disconnections affect people of color, low-income families, seniors or other vulnerable groups would be an important step toward making […]

A PPL Electric Utilities employee installs a dynamic line rating sensor onto a transmission line in Pennsylvania from a helicopter. The sensors allow utilities to take into account wind speed, cloud cover and other conditions to determine if a line has more capacity. (Courtesy of PPL Electric Utilities)

Federal, state regulators prod utilities to consider technology for grid upgrade

BY: - August 28, 2023

Of the many challenges confronting the nation’s aging, straining electric grid, the need for a lot of new transmission capacity is among the most pressing, experts and policymakers say. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy said the nation will need thousands of miles of new lines to better link regions to handle extreme weather, reduce […]

Hydrogen, nuclear among winners in last-minute changes to Ohio budget bill

BY: - July 10, 2023

Policies for new utility charges, natural gas, nuclear power promotion and solar energy were scattered throughout the 6,198-page two-year budget bill passed by Ohio lawmakers on June 30. Line item vetoes released in the wee hours of July 4 cut some terms and modified others. Ohio’s two-year budget bills have grown in recent years into […]

HB 6 coal plant charges mount up again in Ohio

BY: - June 16, 2023

Ohio ratepayers will again shell out money for two 1950s-era coal plants next month, following a year of cents-per-month credits. Meanwhile, regulators have yet to rule on years-old challenges to millions of dollars of spending for the plants. Critics have called the charges a bailout and have tried multiple times to repeal the coal plant […]

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder gives the thumbs up as he enters a federal courthouse in Cincinnati. Photo from WEWS.

What can Ohio regulators do to prevent future utility corruption scandals?

BY: - May 3, 2023

This article is provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join the free mailing lists for Eye on Ohio or the Energy News Network, as this helps provide more public service reporting. Regulators taking proactive steps could reduce the risk of […]

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder gives the thumbs up as he enters a federal courthouse in Cincinnati. Photo from WEWS.

What the guilty verdicts in Ohio’s corruption case mean for energy policy and good government

BY: - March 14, 2023

This article is provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join the free mailing lists for Eye on Ohio or the Energy News Network, as this helps provide more public service reporting. Jurors in Ohio’s House Bill 6 criminal corruption case […]

COMMENTARY

The utility bailout House Bill 6 made both Ohio’s air and politics dirty

BY: - March 6, 2023

With all the drama surrounding the Householder trial for racketeering, it can be easy to forget the bill behind the former Ohio Speaker of the House’s alleged $60 million payoff from First Energy power company. House Bill 6 had four major impacts. It required power consumers to bail out two massive nuclear power plants in […]

‘Why is it still going up?’ — Utility costs increasing, Ohio consumers looking for answers

BY: - February 27, 2023

The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.   Many Ohioans are seeing utility bill increases despite using less energy, prompting questions […]

‘It would be bad for both of us if the story came out’

BY: - February 20, 2023

This monthly newsletter provides updates on Ohio’s ongoing utility corruption scandal and is a joint project of Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, and the nonprofit Energy News Network. “It would be bad for both of us if the story came out. But it would be worse for you,” lobbyist Matt Borges told […]

Affordable, reliable and sustainable: report compares utility performance

BY: - January 28, 2023

A nationwide comparison of electric utility performance by an Illinois consumer advocacy group found that customers in states that are heavily reliant on fuel oil and natural gas, as in the Northeast and South, tend to pay more than those with larger amounts of carbon-free generation, among other findings.  The report by the Illinois-based Citizens […]

COMMENTARY

Governor can put Ohioans first with the right PUCO pick

BY: - January 25, 2023

Gov. Mike DeWine will soon have the opportunity to significantly impact how Ohio regulates utilities — and in doing so, help control the rising costs facing Ohioans and Ohio businesses. This opportunity comes as the result of an upcoming retirement of a longtime member of the Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO) — the five-member […]

For offshore wind aspirations to become reality, transmission hurdles must be cleared

BY: - October 11, 2022

President Joe Biden’s administration laid out ambitious additional goals last month to boost offshore wind power generation, one of the American renewable energy industry’s emerging wide open frontiers. The federal announcements come as coastal states across the country are increasingly setting offshore wind energy targets, seeking to capture not just clean energy but the potentially big economic […]