Ohio

Bullock: Ohio HB 6 took away consumer electric savings, but HB 79 can help bring them back

Published

2 years ago

June 15, 2024

Bullock: Ohio HB 6 took away consumer electric savings, but HB 79 can help bring them back

Tom Bullock
| Guest Columnist

Consumers have been paying extra on their monthly electric bills since Ohio House Bill 6 was enacted — not only due to subsidies for 80-year old, uncompetitive power plants it mandated, but also because it ended utility work on energy efficiency that lowers Ohio power consumption and lowers costs along with it. To date, Ohioans have lost an estimated $890 million in savings.

But as early as this month, the Ohio General Assembly could vote to change that and take the first steps toward energy saving since HB 6 was enacted. A new bipartisan proposal, Ohio House Bill 79, could prompt utilities to resume efforts to help customers save through insulation, efficient appliances, less expensive energy, and lower grid maintenance costs.

New rules in HB 79 improve quality controls to ensure utilities’ work results in verifiable bill savings, and they eliminate past gimmicks such as sending light bulb “kits” to customers who did not request them.In practice, this means utilities could offer discounts and rebates to encourage residential and small business customers to invest in insulation, air conditioning and furnaces tune-ups, and efficient lighting, refrigerators, water heaters, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

This matters because the least expensive unit of power is the one we don’t use. For every $1 invested in energy waste reduction, consumers will save $1.30 to $1.90. HB 79 would lower energy inflation. If Ohio does nothing, energy inflation will cost everyone more. Power prices rise as power demand rises, unless we deploy energy efficiency to delink them.

Notably, HB 79 allows consumers to opt out. Customers who do will still save money thanks to lower energy prices (due to lowered demand) and lower peak demand (e.g. on hot summer days), which drives a significant portion of electricity costs.

HB 79 also would increase grid reliability. Ohio will need more power in coming years thanks to data centers, the Intel chip manufacturing facility in Lick County, and increasing electric vehicle use. If Ohio energy efficiency work had continued after HB 6, Ohioans could have used 5.4 million megawatt hours (MWh) less electricity in 2023 —about the same as the annual power output of the coal-fired Kyger Creek Power Plant along the Ohio River in Cheshire, Gallilia County (owned by Ohio Valley Electric Corporation).

The market alone is not enough, and utility-run programs can increase savings by getting more consumers to participate, lowering usage statewide that lowers costs for everyone. Critics claim that markets work and people make energy efficiency choices without utility involvement, but all evidence shows that utility discounts and rebates together with the market often produce the best results for consumers utilizing energy efficiency.

In a time of rising costs, the Ohio General Assembly can help Ohioans cut their energy use and monthly bills by passing HB 79. Will they?

Tom Bullock is executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Ohio, a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization works to reduce residential and small business utility customers.

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Ohio

After her son died in car wreck, Ohio mom fought for public records

Published

12 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

After her son died in car wreck, Ohio mom fought for public records

A mom searching for answers about her son’s death in a car wreck won a victory on Dec. 19 when the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Richland County Sheriff to release records to her.

The court ruled in a unanimous decision that Andrea Mauk is entitled to three sets of records withheld by the sheriff, with only Social Security numbers being redacted. Mauk will be awarded $2,000 in damages but will not receive attorney fees.

On June 23, 2023, 18-year-old Damon Mauk lost control of his 1998 Ford Mustang and slammed it into a tree. His mother wanted to piece together what happened, collect his belongings and grieve the loss of her child. She didn’t think she’d have to fight for public records and take her case to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Following the crash, Richland County Sheriff’s deputies, a township fire department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded.

During the investigation, a trooper told a deputy to leave Damon’s iPhone and wallet in the car, according to Mauk’s court filings. Instead, the deputy took the belongings to the hospital and handed them off to someone who said he was Damon’s dad.

Mauk didn’t understand. Damon’s father was largely absent from his life. How could he have been there to pick up the wallet and phone?

A few weeks after the fatal crash, Mauk asked for records, including: the sheriff’s report and inventory of items taken from the car, body camera footage from deputies who gave away the belongings, the report, photos and videos created by the patrol and more.

Mauk, of the Mansfield area, received some but not all of the requested records. Mauk hired attorney Brian Bardwell to pursue records she believes exist but weren’t provided or were improperly redacted.

The sheriff’s office claimed that some of the requested records were exempt from disclosure because they are confidential law enforcement records or personal notes. The court privately reviewed the records withheld from Mauk and determined that they should be released.

The decision in favor of releasing records runs contrary to recent rulings from the high court.

In 2024, the court held that the cost of sending troopers to protect Gov. Mike DeWine at a Super Bowl game weren’t subject to disclosure and that the Ohio Department of Health should redact from a database the names and addresses of Ohioans who had died, even though that death certificate information can be released on an individual case basis.

In 2025 the court ruled that police officers’ names may be kept confidential if they’re attacked on the job, giving them privacy rights afforded to crime victims.

State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.

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Ohio

No. 21 Ohio State women beat Norfolk State 79-45

Published

24 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

No. 21 Ohio State women beat Norfolk State 79-45

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kylee Kitts scored 13 points, Jaloni Cambridge added 11 and No. 21 Ohio State rolled past Norfolk State 79-45 on Thursday night for its eighth straight win.

Dasha Biriuk added 10 points for Ohio State, which is 10-1 overall and 7-0 at home.

Kitts was 6 of 12 from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with two steals and two blocks. Cambridge was 4-of-8 shooting and had eight rebounds and two steals.

Cambridge scored seven points in the first quarter as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 20-10 lead and built a 43-21 halftime advantage. Kitts and Cambridge each scored nine first-half points.

Ohio State outrebounded Norfolk State 55-32 and scored 21 points off 17 turnovers.

Jasha Clinton scored 18 points to lead Norfolk State (5-9). Ciara Bailey had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Up next

Norfolk State plays at Elon on Sunday.

Ohio State hosts Western Michigan on Mondahy.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

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Ohio

Menards to pay 10 states, including Ohio, $4.25 million in rebate settlement

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Menards to pay 10 states, including Ohio, .25 million in rebate settlement

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio is part of a multistate lawsuit settlement against home improvement store Menards.

According to the state Attorney General’s Office, Ohio and nine other states reached the settlement with Menards, a Wisconsin-based home-improvement retail store, over allegations of deceptive rebate advertising.

The 10-state led investigation revealed that Menards would give shoppers the impression that they were getting an immediate discount while shopping through its advertising, when in fact, savings actually came in the form of a rebate or in-store credit.

The investigation raised concerns with Menards’ marketing strategy and sales practices, alleging the following of the company:

Advertised 11% off or 11% off everything that suggested an instant price cut, even though customers received only a rebate on future purchases.
Listed prices already at an 11% discount, reinforcing the idea that shoppers were getting an in-store discount.
Failed to clearly explain the important limits of the rebate program, burying key details in the fine print.
Tell customers that Rebates International was a separate company handling rebates, even though it is operated by Menards itself.

The settlement, announced Thursday, included an agreement by Menards that it would, in part, discontinue ads suggesting immediate discounts, clearly explaining the rules, limits, and conditions of its rebate program, and offer customers an easier path towards claiming rebates, both in person and online, among other changes.

In addition, Menards will pay participating states $4.25 million in fees, of which $365,173.05 will go toward the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Enforcement Fund.

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