A report issued by an Ohio legislative committee recommends freezing the state’s frozen RPS indefinitely. Specifically, the Energy Mandates Study Committee’s report recommends:

• Extending the RPS freeze indefinitely. Citing the uncertainty of carbon regulations and the potential for such regulations to raise costs, the Committee has recommended freezing the RPS indefinitely to allow flexibility in complying with the carbon regulations while keeping costs as low as possible.
• Providing an expedited process at the Public Utilities Commission for the review of new utility plans for energy efficiency.
• Investigating and ensuring maximum credit for all of Ohio’s energy initiatives. The Committee recommends that the General Assembly allow all “advanced energy projects” and “advanced energy resources” to count toward the 12.5% benchmark that utilities and suppliers must meet by 2027. The Committee also recommends that the General Assembly determine the most effective way to further incentivize the deployment and counting of CHP and energy efficiency.
• Switching from energy mandates to energy incentives, with a strong focus on promoting energy efficiency. In addition, the Committee recommends: (1) that utilities and suppliers who provide material assistance to persons wishing to build net metering projects be allowed to negotiate a lower price at which to buy the net-metered electricity; (2) that the General Assembly allow other constructs for utilities to participate in DG opportunities; and (3) expanding the state’s existing PACE policy.

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