The governor approved version of the Electric Utility deregulation bill cleared the Ohio house yesterday with near unanimous vote (93 to 1). It is expected to pass unchanged in the senate and signed by Governor Strickland.
Electric rate increases may be limited (from the Plain Dealer business section)
Electric utilities will have to go through the PUCO for rate increases, and Akron based First Energy (parent company of Ohio Edison) will be required to eliminate some of the generation related charges it currently collects.
For the first time in a long time, consumers in North East Ohio may see a temporary reduction in their electricity bill for a few months as First Energy drops its generation related charges and transitions into a new rate plan under the authority of the PUCO.
The ten amendments to the house version of the bill which Governor Strickland had to fight for, have put the emphasis back on the protection of the consumer instead of pampering First Energy.
I join other Ohioans in thanking Governor Strickland for fighting hard everyday, for all of us.
Jack Schira.
.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Strickland fighting to keep electric rates in check
Governor Ted Strickland and Ohio house speaker Jon Husted are locked in a battle over the electric utility regulation bill, it was reported in Ohio Public news this morning.
Governor Strickland is demanding that the house pass legislation to keep electric rates in check. Runaway electricity rates would not only devastate consumers, but also impact businesses and jobs throughout the state.
Recently, Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted unveiled electric utility re-regulation legislation that was to be presented to the full House for quick passage. Buried in his proposed legislation are several provisions that would allow Akron based First Energy (parent company of Ohio Edison) to charge its customers high electricity rates. First Energys' customers already pay the highest electricity rates in Ohio.
It is not hard to understand why First Energy is being treated so favorably by Speaker Husted and the House Republicans.
Based on information from the Ohio Secretary of States' site, First Energys' CEO and the First Energy Political Action Committee have contributed well over a million dollars in campaign contributions, mostly to Republican candidates and causes.
No wonder house speaker Jon Husted is having such a hard time coming up with legislation that is kind to First Energy and also acceptable to the rest of Ohio.
The legislation proposed by speaker Husted is so biased in favor of First Energy that other Ohio electric utilities, like American Electric Power in Columbus, are now crying foul.
Ohio energy bill stalemate continues
Haven't we suffered enough from foreclosures, job losses, prices at the pump, business bankruptcies and loss of life & limb at war ?
Do we also have to be gouged thru our electricity bills ?
Matthew 6:24
Ohio House Speaker Husted and the Ohio House Republicans can serve Ohioans or First Energy, but not both.
Jack Schira
Governor Strickland is demanding that the house pass legislation to keep electric rates in check. Runaway electricity rates would not only devastate consumers, but also impact businesses and jobs throughout the state.
Recently, Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted unveiled electric utility re-regulation legislation that was to be presented to the full House for quick passage. Buried in his proposed legislation are several provisions that would allow Akron based First Energy (parent company of Ohio Edison) to charge its customers high electricity rates. First Energys' customers already pay the highest electricity rates in Ohio.
It is not hard to understand why First Energy is being treated so favorably by Speaker Husted and the House Republicans.
Based on information from the Ohio Secretary of States' site, First Energys' CEO and the First Energy Political Action Committee have contributed well over a million dollars in campaign contributions, mostly to Republican candidates and causes.
No wonder house speaker Jon Husted is having such a hard time coming up with legislation that is kind to First Energy and also acceptable to the rest of Ohio.
The legislation proposed by speaker Husted is so biased in favor of First Energy that other Ohio electric utilities, like American Electric Power in Columbus, are now crying foul.
Ohio energy bill stalemate continues
Haven't we suffered enough from foreclosures, job losses, prices at the pump, business bankruptcies and loss of life & limb at war ?
Do we also have to be gouged thru our electricity bills ?
Matthew 6:24
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Ohio House Speaker Husted and the Ohio House Republicans can serve Ohioans or First Energy, but not both.
Jack Schira
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Governor Strickland on electricity re-regulation
Let us support Governor Strickland, in his efforts to STOP electric deregulation.
Jack Schira.
Monday, March 31, 2008
STOP that electric deregulation
Ohio electric utilities are scheduled to deregulate at the end of 2008.
According to a report by USA Today and The Christian Science Monitor, electric bills have gone up in every one of the sixteen states, plus Washington DC, that have deregulated their electric utilities.
So why is Ohio still continuing down the path of this failed policy ?
To date, deregulation in the energy sector has not produced competitive prices in Ohio. It wasn't that long ago, that Columbia Gas of Ohio supplied natural gas in Medina County for around 50 cents per Ccf. Since then natural gas utilities have been deregulated and current prices are hovering around $1.15 per Ccf.
I fail to see how consumers benefited from the deregulation of home heating gas supply.
Using electricity is like having roads, we just can't do without it. And we have come to depend on our government to plan for and facilitate the supply of this essential commodity.
Why then, is our state government abandoning its responsibility to the public and leaving us at the mercy of the electric utilities ?
In 2007, Governor Strickland introduced senate bill 221 to protect Ohio consumers from soaring electricity prices. The bill passed in the Ohio senate 32-0, but it has yet to see the light of the day in the Ohio house.
I urge Ohio house speaker John Husted and Medina County representatives – Bob Gibbs and William Batchelder to do the right thing and HALT our perilous slide to electric deregulation.
They MUST ACT NOW !
Sincerely,
Jack Schira
Democratic Candidate for the Ohio House, 69th District.
(330) 225-0937
5147 White Pine Drive
Brunswick Ohio 44212
According to a report by USA Today and The Christian Science Monitor, electric bills have gone up in every one of the sixteen states, plus Washington DC, that have deregulated their electric utilities.
So why is Ohio still continuing down the path of this failed policy ?
To date, deregulation in the energy sector has not produced competitive prices in Ohio. It wasn't that long ago, that Columbia Gas of Ohio supplied natural gas in Medina County for around 50 cents per Ccf. Since then natural gas utilities have been deregulated and current prices are hovering around $1.15 per Ccf.
I fail to see how consumers benefited from the deregulation of home heating gas supply.
Using electricity is like having roads, we just can't do without it. And we have come to depend on our government to plan for and facilitate the supply of this essential commodity.
Why then, is our state government abandoning its responsibility to the public and leaving us at the mercy of the electric utilities ?
In 2007, Governor Strickland introduced senate bill 221 to protect Ohio consumers from soaring electricity prices. The bill passed in the Ohio senate 32-0, but it has yet to see the light of the day in the Ohio house.
I urge Ohio house speaker John Husted and Medina County representatives – Bob Gibbs and William Batchelder to do the right thing and HALT our perilous slide to electric deregulation.
They MUST ACT NOW !
Sincerely,
Jack Schira
Democratic Candidate for the Ohio House, 69th District.
(330) 225-0937
5147 White Pine Drive
Brunswick Ohio 44212
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)