Yesterday, the office of Sen. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) sent a memorandum to respondents of his request for comment on S.B. 221 — a placeholder bill to review issues related to former Gov. Ted Strickland’s energy bill, which established renewable energy portfolio and energy efficiency standards for the state.
In Sen. Seitz’s initial request for comment, which was released February 1, 2013, Sen. Seitz provided a list of issues with the existing standards, including “whether the 3% cost cap on complying with the renewable energy portfolio should be revised; how much it cost utilities to comply; whether energy efficiency targets should be frozen in place; and if the benchmarks are abolished, should existing contracts be preserved,” according to the Gongwer Ohio Report.
In the memorandum released yesterday, Sen. Seitz confirmed that he will indeed introduce a placeholder bill and stated that the plan going forward, following its introduction, is to have a hearing on “information from the perspectives of the PUCO and the OCC,” followed by subsequent hearings on subtopics. Upon completion of those hearings, it will be determined “what, if anything, should replace the placeholder bill.”
