Ohio

Ohio House passes bills to ax coal fees, attract new energy to the state

Published

9 months ago

March 26, 2025

Ohio House passes bills to ax coal fees, attract new energy to the state

Lawmakers agree: Ohio must create more energy to avoid blackouts and high electric bills while still powering new data centers and technology.

But they have slightly different ideas about how to attract new energy generators to Ohio while cutting the fees that consumers currently pay.

During a Wednesday debate on the House floor, lawmakers focused on fees tacked onto Ohioans’ electric bills for two coal plants, including one in Indiana.

“This is the last pillar of the largest scandal in our state’s history,” said Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Township, referencing a pay-to-play scheme that sent former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder to prison for 20 years. “An industry is going to understand when you get caught, not making a bad deal but bribing an official, these members in the House are going to work hard to remove any benefit you got.”

But not everyone was convinced. Former Speaker Jason Stephens, a Kitts Hill Republican who represents the area where the Ohio plant is located, said it was “totally unfair” to end the coal plant fees immediately. Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport, said the coal plant fees should continue − or at least give companies time to adjust.

After that debate, lawmakers in the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 15, 90-3, which aims to tackle many of the state’s energy policy problems. The Ohio Senate unanimously passed a different proposal, Senate Bill 2, last week.

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Both proposed laws have faced dozens of revisions and could face several more before any sweeping energy policy is delivered to GOP Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk.

What would House Bill 15 do?

The House’s sweeping energy bill, sponsored by Rep. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, would:

Eliminate fees on Ohioans’ electric bills for two coal plants, including one in Indiana. Ohioans have already paid more than $670 million for the two Ohio Valley Electric Corporation coal plants, which are owned by several utilities, since 2017, according to an Ohio Manufacturing Association report. Eliminating the fee would save Ohioans $591.4 million through 2030, according to a fiscal analysis. In committee, lawmakers rejected an amendment that would have ended the OVEC fees on Dec. 31, 2026, instead of immediately. Committee chairman Adam Holmes said Ohioans couldn’t afford to extend the deadline. “We have to speak for them.”
End a solar energy generation fee, which has collected more than $60 million from Ohioans. Most of that money hasn’t been spent, according to Cleveland.com. The House plan would give Ohioans refunds for these fees. Both fees were included in a 2019 law, called House Bill 6, which also included a $1 billion bailout for nuclear plants. That law was at the heart of a federal investigation into corruption at the Ohio Statehouse.
Reduce taxes on property owned by new energy generators from 24% to 7%. Existing power plants would be taxed the same, alleviating a concern from local school boards that they would lose money.
Reduce taxes on new transmission and distribution property from 88% to 25%.
Require more scrutiny of fees added to Ohioans’ electric bills by eliminating electric security plans, which tack on charges that receive less review from utility regulators.
Require utilities to refund fees once the Ohio Supreme Court finds them unlawful, imprudent or improper. The refunds would start when the court issues a decision, not when they were first applied.

“Today is a big win for the pocketbooks of Ohio,” said Rep. Sean Patrick Brennan, D-Parma.

How are the House and Senate bills different?

Both bills want to improve access to energy in Ohio and protect ratepayers. But they approach them in slightly different ways. Those changes must be hashed out before DeWine can sign these policies into law.

Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said those conversations will happen next month, but both chambers agree: “We’re not subsidizing directly utilities anymore.”

Those differences include:

Tax rates. Senate Bill 2 would eliminate the tangible personal property tax, which is assessed on business property, for energy first generated in 2026 or later. The House bill would tax it at 7%.
What happens with solar fees already collected. The House would refund customers. The Senate proposed giving the money to schools to improve their energy efficiency.
New ideas. The House version would create a Community Energy Pilot Program, which would allow customers to opt into smaller, local projects for solar, wind, natural gas generators, biomass, hydroelectric or fuel cells.
Where anaerobic digesters can be placed. The Senate version would allow county commissioners, zoning appeals boards, township trustees and municipal councils to decide where these tanks that break down waste, manure and other organic matter.
Thermostat control. A last-minute Senate change would allow consumers to receive a $40 annual credit from their utility if they give the utility access to their smart thermostat so it can be adjusted from one to three degrees during peak energy hours and do not override it more than 50% of the time.

State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@gannett.com or @jbalmert on X.

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Ohio

Ohio State Transfer QB Lincoln Kienholz Commits to Louisville

Published

9 minutes ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Ohio State Transfer QB Lincoln Kienholz Commits to Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Louisville football program, presumably, has their QB1 for the 2026 season.

Former Ohio State quarterback Lincoln Kienholz announced Saturday that he has committed to the Cardinals. He will join Louisville will two years of eligilbility.

Keinholz is Louisville’s second portal commitment of the cycle, joining Kentucky cornerback D.J. Waller. The duo are the first to offset 21 portal defections that UofL has seen so far. The 14-day transfer window officially opened up this past Friday, and is the only opportunity for players to enter following the removal of the spring window.

The 6-foot-2, 214-pound quarterback was involved in a highly competitive battle for the Buckeyes’ starting gig in the preseason, before ultimately losing out to eventual Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin. He saw action in seven games this past season, going 11-of-14 through the air for 139 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 66 yards and two scores on 11 attempts.

“Just a tremendous athlete,” OSU head coach Ryan Day said of Kienholz at Big Ten Media Days this past summer. “You pick a sport, he can do it. He’s like a four handicap [in golf]. He can hit the [baseball] out of the park. He was a major league baseball prospect. He can windmill dunk. He can do a lot of things.”

The Pierre, S.D. native spent three seasons in Columbus. As a true freshman in 2023, he played in three games, going 10-of-22 for 111 yards, while also rushing for two yards on six attempts. He did not log any stats during Ohio State’s 2024 national championship season.

Kienholz was a highly-regarded recruit coming out of high school, ranking as No. 194 prospect in the Class of 2023. He chose Ohio State over Illinois, Kansas State, Pitt, Washington, Wisconsin and others.

He has the inside track to be Louisville’s starter next season given recent roster movement. Previously, incoming true freshman Briggs Cherry was the lone scholarship quarterback on the roster after Deuce Adams, Brady Allen and Mason Mims all hit the transfer portal.

In their third season under head coach Jeff Brohm, Louisville went 9-4 overall, including a 4-4 mark in ACC play and a 27-22 win over Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl. The Cardinals have won at least nine games in all three seasons under Brohm, doing so for the first time since 2012-14.

Ohio

Ohio Lottery Pick 3 Midday, Pick 3 Evening winning numbers for Dec. 28, 2025

Published

6 days ago

December 29, 2025

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The Ohio Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 28, 2025, results for each game:

Pick 3

Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.

Midday: 9-0-9

Evening: 2-4-1

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 4

Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.

Midday: 6-4-5-8

Evening: 4-6-2-6

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 5

Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.

Midday: 6-8-6-2-0

Evening: 2-4-5-7-9

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Rolling Cash 5

Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at approximately 7:05 p.m.

10-11-15-19-34

Check Rolling Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Lucky For Life

Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at approximately 10:35 p.m.

12-17-25-34-42, Lucky Ball: 09

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Enquirer digital news director. You can send feedback using this form.

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Ohio Turnpike issues travel ban for high-profile vehicles due to high winds

Published

7 days ago

December 28, 2025

Press Room

Due to high winds in Northeast Ohio, the Ohio Turnpike has issued a travel ban for certain vehicles on Monday.

From 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., some high-profile vehicles that may be affected by high wind speeds will be prohibited from using the turnpike.

The following vehicles will not be able to travel using the turnpike:

All high-profile (greater than 7-feet 6-inches in height) tow-behind trailers, campers, boats, and enclosed trailers. (This does not include trailers with fifth-wheel type trailers).
Commercial trucks towing an empty, single 53-foot box-type trailer.
All mobile homes, office trailers and livestock trailers.
All long combination vehicles (LCV) that include double-trailer combinations exceeding 90 feet in length. (Enclosed trailers only, including Conestoga type trailers).
All LCV triple-trailer combinations.
Two-axle buses longer than 40 feet.
Buses with three or more axles greater than 45 feet.

The travel ban will not impact the following vehicles:

Passenger cars and pickup trucks.
Commercial trucks towing a loaded, single 53-foot trailer.
Self-propelled motor homes.
Low-profile trailers.
Fold-down camper trailers.
Pickup trucks with slide-on camper units.
Vehicles towing fifth-wheel type trailers or any other type of trailers towed by passenger vehicles or pickup trucks that are not listed in the “prohibited” vehicles section above.
Commercial trucks towing a single flatbed or tanker trailer.
Commercial trucks towing a car hauler trailer.
Commercial trucks towing flatbed double-trailer combinations.
Commercial trucks towing any double-trailer combinations less than 90 feet.
Two-axle buses less than 40 feet.
Buses with three or more axles less than 45 feet.