Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

site web  

Spokesmen for manufacturers and low-income electricity consumers on Friday, March 7, praised Gov. Ted Strickland's proposal of guidelines for shaping a long-term plan to provide for Ohio's electric power needs.

Strickland said his offering was intended as suggestions for finding common ground between state Senate legislation and House proposals.

The subject is regarded as critical to Ohio's long-term ability to attract new employers in competition with other states. Strickland said he also wants mechanisms built in to protect consumers from price manipulation and sudden, steep electricity rate increases as Ohio tries to encourage a competitive electricity market over the next decade.

He said the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio should have authority to oversee the transition, including supervising competitive bidding by utilities in Ohio and elsewhere to provide power. At least four bidders should be involved in those competitions, and the PUCO should have final authority to determine the validity of the process and to choose the winning bids, the governor suggested.

"In order to allow Ohio to move carefully and gradually into market-based electric pricing, it makes sense to utilize a specifically identified gradual process," the governor wrote in his proposal.

House Speaker Jon Husted, who has suggested a competing plan, had not reviewed the governor's suggestions, Husted spokeswoman Karen Stivers said. There is no timetable for the Ohio House to vote on energy legislation, Stivers said.

Strickland's suggestions could address concerns by Ohio utilities that earlier proposals would not give those companies enough time to reach targets for generating certain percentages of electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and waste wood, spokesmen for manufacturer and consumer organizations said.

His proposals would give utilities the time they need to obtain sites and necessary permits for new facilities to generate power from renewable sources, said Dave Rinebolt, executive director of Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy, which represents low-income consumers of energy.

"It accommodates the utilities' concerns but still protects businesses and residential consumers from rate shock," said Eric Burkland, president of the Ohio Manufacturers' Association.

Leaders of the renewable-energy industry cautioned, however, that Ohio could miss out on wind and solar energy development if enforceable benchmarks for annual progress are left out of Ohio's energy plans.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.