The Buckeye Institute recently presented its testimony before the Ohio House Energy Committee, supporting policies in Ohio House Bill 15. The organization claims that these policies will help secure a supply of affordable and reliable energy to meet increasing consumer demands.
Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, described House Bill 15 as “the most free-market piece of energy legislation since the deregulation efforts in the late 1990s.” He praised the bill for ending government subsidies that he believes damage energy markets, incentivizing new energy production by lowering taxes on new generations, streamlining the siting process for new generation and transmission, eliminating electric security plans, and ensuring utilities focus on transmission and distribution rather than generation.
Lawson suggested several amendments to enhance the bill further. He proposed that Ohio should create “heat maps” for natural gas pipelines to manage their capacity effectively. This step aims to prevent future supply interruptions due to increased demand from residential and industrial users.
Additionally, Lawson recommended including virtual net metering options on brownfields to expand energy production beyond major consumers. He also suggested allowing market participants to develop “microgrids” to meet large-scale demand from data centers and high-end manufacturing.
House Bill 15 is seen as making significant progress toward addressing Ohio’s current and future energy challenges. Greg R. Lawson concluded his testimony by expressing his readiness to answer any questions from the committee members.
