posted on Friday, June 24, 2005 9:27 PM
by
Gunnar Birgisson
Ohio Governor Statements Harbinger Possible Electric Industry Re-regulation
Storms of re-regulation in the Buckeye state appear to be building as Ohio Governor Bob Taft (R) hinted in a speech delivered at the NAE Regional Conference held on June 3 in Cleveland that unless competition in the electric industry registers a pulse, re-regulation could be in the state's future. De-regulation in Ohio began in 1999 when S.B. 3, the Electric Restructuring Bill was passed providing customer choice effective January 1, 2001. The results of de-regulation have been mixed; local government aggregation programs, primarily in Northern Ohio where FirstEnergy operates, have won some gains and many large customers have switched suppliers, but small customers have been slow to take advantage of competition, specifically in areas supplied by Ohio Power, Columbus Southern Power, Cincinnati Gas & Electric and Dayton Power & Light.
A decision on potential new energy regulation legislation could follow from a series of hearings investigating the effectiveness of S.B. 3. Ohio State Senator Robert Schuler (R) will chair the hearings, which are expected to conclude before the end of the year. [NEW MATTER]