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
Monday, March 31, 2008
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