A bipartisan proposal advancing in the Republican-controlled Ohio House would allow gas and electric utilities to reintroduce programs designed to help customers save energy.
House Bill 79 would let utilities bring back some of those programs, but on a voluntary basis with capped monthly charges and smaller expectations for energy savings. The legislation is co-sponsored by House Majority Floor Leader Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican who was a perennial critic of the programs before HB 6 passed in 2019.
Solar energy developers want to spend millions of dollars investing in Ohio, but the state won't let them. Now, some lawmakers are trying to challenge the anti-solar narrative.