Representatives Callender and Wilkin Introduce Legislation Creating New Ohio Clean Air Program

COLUMBUS – To boost the state’s commitment and investment in clean energy, Representatives Jamie Callender (R-Concord Township) and Shane Wilkin (R-Hillsboro) today introduced a bill creating the Ohio Clean Air Program (OCAP) designed to provide incentives to build and maintain zero and reduced carbon emissions generation facilities in the state while lowering customers’ electric utility bills.

“We all have a duty to be stewards of the environment,” said Speaker Larry Householder. “We can all agree that we need to improve the quality of our air, water and ground.  We must ensure these are as clean as practical and we leave our environment healthy for our children and grandchildren. This program will steer our state in the right energy and clean air direction for 11.6 million Ohioans.”

OCAP will provide incentives to electric power generators that produce zero-carbon emissions, reduce emissions or invest in clean energy. The program seeks to offer an alternative way to encourage cleaner energy production in Ohio.

Currently, Ohio’s residential, commercial and industrial energy customers, through mandates on their bills, pay monthly charges for renewable and energy efficiency/peak demand services. The new bill proposes to make those programs still available to customers as options but replaced with the new, OCAP program. The OCAP would appear on customer bills – for most customers it will be lower than the amount charged by the mandates and programs.

Currently, the average residential customer pays $4.39 in mandates.  The bill proposal will save on average $1.89 under this new program.

The new statewide rate for the Clean Air Program is:

• $2.50 per month for residential customers;
• $20 per month for commercial customers;
• $250 per month for industrial customers;
• $2,500 per month for very large users (45 million KWh a year).

The bill would create a fund and program, administered by the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, (OAQDA) which will certify Clean Air Resources and Reduced Emissions Resources. Certified Clean Air Resources, which produce zero-carbon emissions, will report each month to the OAQDA their megawatt hours generated and will receive credits based on a formula. The OAQDA will also develop a program for generators who reduce their emissions.

It is expected that the OCAP will collect approximately $300 million per year.

“The good news for electric customers is that for many, their bills will actually go down,” Said Rep. Callender, chair of the House Public Utilities Committee and co-sponsor of the bill. “This is because there are already charges on their bills in the form of a Renewal Portfolio Standard and Energy Efficiency Standard/Peak Demand. The new program seeks to offer an alternative way to encourage cleaner energy production in Ohio.“

“This legislation looks to Ohio’s energy future by investing in clean energy,” said Rep. Wilkin, co-sponsor of the bill. “It addresses the global need of generating power and balancing it with a portfolio of supporting cleaner resources to meet the state’s demand.”

The bill will be assigned to the Ohio House Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and will be considered by the Sub-committee on Energy Generation.

Watch the press conference held today here: http://www.ohiochannel.org/video/press-conference-4-12-2019-ohio-clean-air-program

Supporting documents can be found here: https://ohiolis.sharefile.com/d-s57d92e3d6a54ea7a