This bipartisan, voluntary energy efficiency bill allows Ohio’s utilities to run programs for residential and small commercial customers. The bill does not force utilities to run programs, nor does it require customers to participate, but the utilities have indicated that they hope to bring back new and improved programs. The legislature eliminated the previous energy efficiency programs when it passed HB 6 and bailed out the FirstEnergy nuclear plants in 2019.

House Bill 79, the Energy Efficiency Bill, benefits residential and small business energy customers across the state. The bill creates voluntary energy efficiency programs for utility companies to offer discounts and rebates to customers who invest in updated technologies that reduce energy use.

Switching to smart thermostats, updating household appliances, and taking measures to weatherize a home or small business are only a few of the ways to reduce usage incentivized by energy cost savings in the bill.

The Energy Efficiency bill also increases energy consumer savings by getting more customers to participate, lowering statewide usage that lowers costs for everyone.

Usually peak energy demand triggers an increase in energy costs. During the summer, we have seen rolling brown outs across parts of the state when the demand for energy is too high.

With energy efficiency programs established by House Bill 79 Ohio can make the grid more reliable by incentivizing energy consumers to reduce energy waste within their own home or business.

On Wednesday, June 26, 2024 House Bill 79 passed on the floor of the Ohio House of Representatives by a vote of 50-45-4. The bill’s sponsors, Rep. Bill Seitz and Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, emphasized throughout the bill’s hearings that the cheapest energy for customers is the energy they don’t need because utilities help them reduce their usage, which also helps grid reliability.

To become law, the Energy Efficiency Bill needs to pass in the State Senate before the end of the year.