Urgent action is needed, Friend.

The repeal of HB6 is incomplete without a full repeal of the bailout for the OVEC coal plants

OVEC stands for the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation. It’s a company owned by a bunch of other companies and consists of two large coal plants; Kyger Creek in Cheshire, Ohio and Clifty Creek in Madison, Indiana.

OVEC was formed in 1952 by utilities to provide electric services in the Ohio River Valley to provide power for uranium enrichment facilities then under construction by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Legislators that are shills for the OVEC bailout like to point out the fact the plants were a national security resource as they powered the factory making the atomic bomb material at the heart of the US Cold War strategy. That was true once but not now and not for decades.

The OVEC coal bailout was added to HB6 after three of Ohio’s electric utilities - AEP, Duke, Dayton Power & Light - opposed FirstEnergy and Energy Harbor getting a bailout for the Davis Besse and Perry nuclear plants.

Bipartisan duo Senators Mark Romanchuk and Hearcel Craig have introduced SB 117 which would repeal the HB6 OVEC bailout

Romanchuk and Craig provided sponsor testimony on SB117 and concisely highlighted repeatedly why the OVEC bailout was a financial burden and mistake that needs to be corrected.

Ohioans shouldn’t be paying more each month to bail out two dirty, inefficient, expensive 1950s coal plants for the next decade. These plants should be retired, not bailed out. SB117 is the first step in that process.

Please submit testimony in support of SB117

The testimony is due first thing Tuesday morning, the hearing is 9am Wednesday, May 12 in the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee.

• This page has talking points to help you prepare your written statement. It also includes a witness slip for you to fill out that will go with your written testimony. 

• Once your remarks are finalized, you can send them with the witness slip to energy&[email protected] by Tuesday morning. Apologies for the short turnaround period, we were just informed of the hearing date.

• If you would like to watch the committee proceedings, tune into the Ohio Channel on Wednesday, May 12, 9 a.m.

Thanks for speaking out!

Ohio Citizen Action

P.S. You're invited to attend the Clean Energy Summit: Local Communities Lead. Join Ohio mayors and clean energy businesses online to recognize the work Ohio communities are doing to reduce carbon pollution through local action.