Ohio Democratic lawmakers plan to focus on potential economic benefits as they try to persuade fellow Republicans to back an ambitious new bill to push the state to 100% clean energy d ‘by 2050.

Representatives Stephanie Howse, D-Cleveland, and Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, previewed the Energy Employment and Justice Act (HB 429) at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland on Tuesday. Ten other Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors.

“We are at an inflection point – not just in Ohio but around the world – as we seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are wreaking havoc on our global environment and our Ohio environment. “Weinstein said.

Among other things, the 265-page bill provides for a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from electricity by 2030, compared to a 2005 benchmark. This target would drop to 100% d ‘by 2050. The bill would also set a target of reducing energy waste by 22% by the end of 2030.

The bill aims to level the playing field for renewables to compete with fossil fuels. Among other things, it would correct property line setbacks for wind turbines that were tripled in 2014. There would be more flexible options for community solar and virtual net meters. And measures to modernize the network would improve reliability and efficiency.

Energy justice and equity

Equity concerns drive the need for clean energy and must play a key role in the transition, Howse and others noted.

“We need to focus our efforts on environmental justice,†Howse said. In particular, “poor air quality has a disproportionate impact on black and brown communities, as well as low-income communities.” These groups are also the most stressed by high electricity prices, she added.

HB 429 calls for an Office of Energy Justice, whose director would report to the governor. Among other things, the office would ensure that the decisions of the Ohio Utilities Commission are guided by energy justice when setting tariffs and dealing with other issues relating to existing, recessed, or closed energy facilities. . The Ohio Power Siting Board should also consider energy justice impacts in its decisions.

HB 429 also calls for vocational training and economic development, with an emphasis on clean energy jobs and grid modernization. “These are huge job creators,†Weinstein said. “We just have to create the underlying conditions that can allow these jobs to develop. “

Training programs would prioritize black, native or colored people, who have historically faced barriers to good jobs. Other priority groups for vocational training under the bill include young people leaving foster homes and those re-entering the workforce after being incarcerated. Additional provisions aim to help minority clean energy companies get back on their feet, with low-interest loans, coaching and some grants.

Similar to recent legislation passed in Illinois, the bill also aims to help communities that depend on fossil fuels. The areas where coal-fired power plants have been closed “have borne the brunt of both our power generation and the impacts of pollution,” Howse said.

“The Energy Jobs and Justice Act could very well be one of the best expressions of energy justice in the region,†said SeMia Bray, co-facilitator of Black Environmental Leaders in Cleveland. “This legislation is a logical step in making clean energy work for all Ohioans and creating systems that provide support, a call[ing] attention to areas where significant gaps in access and equity persist, and the creation of new policies and practices that are needed to improve these outcomes. “

Responsibility and reform

HB 429 is particularly timely in the wake of the ongoing scandal involving former House Speaker Larry Householder and others in an alleged $ 60 million bribery scheme, mostly funded by FirstEnergy and its affiliates, to elect lawmakers favorable to households, pass Bill 6 and block a voter referendum on it. The 2019 law provided subsidies for two nuclear power plants and two old coal-fired plants, supported utility revenues, and gutted Ohio’s clean energy standards.

HB 6 was “the worst policy in the world, with ulterior motives,” Weinstein said, noting that Ohioans still pay around $ 10,000 an hour for coal subsidies. “After an unprecedented act of corruption, we need equally unprecedented legislation in Ohio to get us back on track and meet our clean energy goals.”

Among other things, HB 429 would expand the power of regulators to audit and investigate utilities that may have committed wrongdoing. In theory, this authority could allow for more in-depth investigations than those undertaken so far by the state utilities commission into FirstEnergy and HB 6. The commission has been criticized for taking a restrictive and piecemeal approach. And a recent corporate separation audit considered that the multiple violations were only “minorâ€. Yet these practices arguably made it easier for company staff to channel money to entities for the alleged bribery program.

Further reforms would raise the bar before the utilities commission can approve settlements with only certain parties to a proceeding. Critics such as Sen. Mark Romanchuk, R-Ontario, said current practice allows regulations that favor utilities and privileged agreements with certain industrial customers, to the detriment of consumers and the public interest. In two 2016 decisions involving FirstEnergy and American Electric Power, the commission initially agreed to partial settlements for the nuclear and coal plant bailout, which were later challenged by federal regulators.

HB 429 also requests refunds if utility charges are later found to be illegal. The reform would avoid situations such as those faced by AEP clients and First Energy, where utilities collected millions in illegal charges from consumers, but never had to refund the money. Other provisions of the bill would tighten the standards for electrical safety plans and decoupling. And utilities couldn’t trade their tariff plans if they didn’t like the changes made by regulators.

A mounted ?

The bill will face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled General Assembly, which has passed several laws making it harder to implement renewables and squeezing the state’s clean energy standards. . Still, Weinstein and Howse are optimistic.

“We are in a relational business,†Howse said, highlighting the economic benefits of renewable energy jobs and grid upgrades. Indeed, most of the rhetoric around fossil fuels has focused on job protection, she noted.

“How are you going to protect a job that doesn’t exist? Howse asked. “It’s just the reality. And it would be irresponsible of us, as a government, not to join forces â€to move forward.

“I think there is an opportunity in the wake of HB 6 to take a fresh look at how energy policy is basically done here,†Weinstein said. Biparty bills remain pending before the legislature to completely repeal this 2019 law, he noted. “I firmly believe that there is bipartisan support to move forward and take this next step.”

“The probability that he doesn’t pass is just as possible as the probability that he can,†Bray said. “So let’s try to see where we are. “