Signed by Governor Mike DeWine

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass with amendment a bill that amends clean energy standards.

Highlights:

• Defines a “clean air resource” as an electric generating facility in Ohio that (Sec. 1):

• Is interconnected with the transmission grid that is subject to the operational control of PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., or its successor organization;

• Uses or will use solar energy as the primary energy source; and

• Has obtained a certificate for the construction of a major utility facility from the Power Siting Board prior to June 1st, 2019.

• Specifies that beginning for all bills rendered on or after January 1st, 2021, by an electric distribution utility in Ohio, such electric distribution utility will collect from all of its retail electric customers in Ohio, each month, a charge or charges total that are sufficient to produce the following revenue requirements (Sec. 1):

• $150 million annually for total disbursements required under section 3706.55 of the Revised Code from the nuclear generation fund; and

• $20 million annually for total disbursements required under section 3706.55 of the Revised Code from the renewable generation fund.

• Authorizes the public utilities commission to decide upon the method through which the revenue is allocated or assigned to each electric distribution utility for billing and collection (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes any person owning or controlling a qualifying nuclear resource or qualifying renewable resource to submit a written application to the Ohio air quality development authority to receive payments for nuclear resource credits or renewable energy credits, as applicable, no later than February 1, 2020 (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the authority to issue one nuclear resource credit to a qualifying nuclear resource for each megawatt hour of electricity that is reported to and approved by the authority (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the authority to issue one renewable energy credit to a qualifying renewable resource for each megawatt hour of electricity that is reported to and approved by the authority (Sec. 1).

• Establishes the price for each renewable energy credit to be $9 dollars (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Ohio air quality development authority, from April 2021 to January 2028 and between three month increments, to direct the treasurer of the state to remit money from the funds created under section 3706.49 of the Revised Code (Sec. 1).

• Prohibits the taxable property of electric companies that are or are part of a qualifying nuclear resource receiving payments for nuclear resource credits for any part of a tax year from being assessed for that year at less than the taxable value of the property as of the effective date of HB 6 of the 133rd general assembly (Sec. 1).

• Defines “credit price adjustment” as a reduction to the price for each nuclear resource credit equal to the market price index minus the strike price (Sec. 1).

• Defines “strike price” as $46 dollars per megawatt hour (Sec. 1).

• Defines “market price index” as the sum expressed in dollars per megawatt hour of both of the following for the upcoming twelve-month period beginning the first day of June and ending the thirty-first of May (Sec. 1):

• Projected energy prices, determined using futures contracts for the PJM AEP-Dayton hub; and

• Projected capacity prices, determined using PJM’s rest-of-RTO market clearing price.

• Requires the commission to submit a report summarizing the findings of each annual review to the president and minority leader of the senate, the speaker and minority leader of the house of representatives, and the Ohio air quality development authority, and to make the report publicly available (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends clean energy standards.

Highlights:

• Requires that if a power siting board issues a certificate to an economically significant wind farm or a large wind farm, that would be located in whole or in part in an unincorporated area of a township, the certificate is to be effective on the 90th day after it is issued unless a referendum petition is filed on or before the 90th day with the board of elections to require the certificate to be submitted to the electors of the unincorporated of the township for approval or rejection (Sec. 1)

• Requires the referendum petition to be signed by a number of qualified electors residing in the unincorporated area, requiring at least 8 percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for governor at the most recent general election when a governor was elected (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that if the certificate is rejected through the referendum, then the certificate shall be one of the following (Sec. 1):

• Invalid, if it is located in the unincorporated area of a single township; or

• Modified, if it is located in more than one township, to exclude the areas of each township whose electors rejected the certificate, but if all townships with electors voting on the referendum reject the certificate, then it is invalid.

• Defines a “clean air resource” as an electric generating facility fueled by nuclear power meeting certain criteria or an electric generating facility that uses or will use solar energy as the primary energy source that satisfies certain criteria and has obtained a certificate from the power siting board prior to June 1st, 2019 (Sec. 1).

• Establishes the Ohio Clean Air program, which terminates on December 31st, 2026 (Sec. 1)

• Authorizes any person owning or controlling a clean air resource to submit a written application with the Ohio air quality development authority for certification as a clean air resource to be eligible to participate in the Ohio clean air program (Sec. 1).

• Requires a clean air resource to remain certified as a clean air resource as long as the resource continues to meet the definition of a clean air resource (Sec. 1).

• Establishes the Ohio clean air program fund, in the custody of the state treasurer but not part of the state treasury (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that beginning January 1st, 2020 and ending December 31st, 2026, each retail electric customer shall pay a per-account monthly charge for deposit into the Ohio clean air program fund, the charges being as followed (Sec. 1):

• For residential customers, $0.50 cents a month during 2020, but from 2021 to 2026, $1 dollar a month;

• For commercial customers, a charge designed and structured by the public utilities commission so that the average charge will be, for the year 2020, $10 dollars a month, and from 2021 to 2026, $15 dollars a month;

• For industrial customers a charge designed and structured by the public utilities commission so that the average charge will be $250 dollars; and

• For commercial or industrial customers exceeding 45 million kilowatt hours of electricity at a single location in the preceding year, a charge of $2,500 dollars a month.

• Requires an independent third party to conduct an annual audit of the Ohio clean air program annually from 2021 to 2027 (Sec. 1).

• Defines a “clean air credit” as a credit that represents the clean air attributes of one megawatt hour of electric energy produced from a certified clean air resource (Sec. 1).

• Requires a certified air resource to earn a clean air credit for each megawatt hour of electricity it produces (Sec. 1).

• Establishes the price for each credit to be $9 dollars (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Ohio air quality development authority to direct the treasurer of state to send money from the Ohio clean air program fund to each owner of a certified clean air resource in the amount equal to the amount of credits earned by the resource during the previous month multiplied by the credit price, each month (Sec. 1).

• Requires an electric distribution utility to submit an application to the Ohio air quality development authority for reimbursement from the clean air fund if certain conditions are met, in which the authority must direct the treasurer of state to send money to them within 90 days (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes certified clean air resources fueled by nuclear power seeking a reduction in the taxable value of their property to file a petition for reassessment as long as it is not below the taxable values for the property when the amendments were added to the bill (Sec. 1).

• Defines “credit price adjustment” as a reduction to the price for each clean air credit equal to the market price index minus the strike price (Sec. 1).

• Defines “strike price” as $46 dollars per megawatt hour (Sec. 1).

• Defines “market price index” as the sum expressed in dollars per megawatt hour of both (Sec. 1):

• The projected energy prices, determined using “futures contracts for the PJM AEP-Dayton hub;” and

• The projected capacity prices, determined using “PJM’s rest-of-RTO market clearing price.”

• Requires the clean air authority to apply a credit price adjustment for the upcoming program year if the market price index exceeds the strike price on the first day of April, only applying to clean air resources fueled by nuclear power (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text