Testimony submitted on SB 117
By Beth Sergent - bsergent@aimmediamidwest.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio Proposed legislation currently in an Ohio Senate Committee, could affect the Kyger Creek Power Plant located in Gallia County, and, as both supporters and critics argue, consumers.
Senate Bill 117 (SB 117) states its a bill to “amend section 4928.01 and to repeal section 4928.148 of the Revised Code to repeal the legacy generation resource provisions of H.B. 6 of the 133rd General Assembly and provide customers refunds.”
According to documents filed via the senate’s committee, the legislation’s primary sponsors, Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario from District 22) and Sen. Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus from District 15), wrote, in part:
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COLUMBUS – At a time when many coal-fired plants are closing, Ohioans are paying for two coal plants on their electric bills, and one isn t even located in the state.
The reasons why Ohioans are subsidizing the Piketon-based Ohio Valley Electric Corp. (OVEC) plants are complicated and, of course, political. The plants were built to power America s push for nuclear weapons during the Cold War. But that role was short-lived, and opponents say the plants have outlived their usefulness.
The OVEC plants became a bargaining chip in the heated House Bill 6 fight to bail out two nuclear plants in northern Ohio then owned by FirstEnergy Solutions. With much of the attention on the $1 billion nuclear bailout, lawmakers extended monthly fees on Ohioans electric bills for the two coal plants through 2030.
Beth Burger, The Columbus Dispatch
Published
11:29 am UTC Jan. 18, 2021
Not many people call Cheshire, Ohio, home now. Nearly 20 years ago, bulldozers sent by a utility company razed most of its homes in the small Appalachian village along the Ohio River.
One of the nation s largest coal-fired power plants still looms over the village s handful of remaining businesses and its post office. The Gen. James M. Gavin Power Plant, named for a decorated World War II paratrooper, has the capacity to generate 2.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 780,000 homes.
The plant is Ohio’s largest polluter, emitting about 13 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each year, with a history of residents living nearby reporting health problems such as asthma.