[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6302865,"mediaKeyId","2475905-5d6c1ccb54604cb2be2b93c3ec14cbb0","parentId",2475905,"title","County auditors, school officials and utilities warn House Bill 15 would shift tax burden from generation‑hosting counties to urban areas","audioSeconds",6191,"startMs",2259000,"endMs",8450000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2475905-5d6c1ccb54604cb2be2b93c3ec14cbb0&start=2259&end=8450","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2475905-5d6c1ccb54604cb2be2b93c3ec14cbb0/thumbnail_2259000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6302865/Ohio/County-auditors-school-officials-and-utilities-warn-House-Bill-15-would-shift-tax-burden-from-generationhosting-counties-to-urban-areas","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6302865-4a1f67956b6ab5aa2bb7e2a29f8d21ed/orig.mp4?Expires=1775413679&Signature=Y09jGukZZalUUQ8oDWFhmjWLEcxPjnGnl2JkOvVPTcFiaA37rJZnM0OQKw4uVw7DZxHzkCs4J247wIH-P9zWzpnclhPCbRy4pPf0kCXemp19vOA6MlWF0cLBXfo~DEO6XXot5JL70XkN3A5e7eXnm-WBRH~6BLbRTKW3ezELoAHxSO4wixGEBHrRtxBeSgCtQqPFIag4yvmEVHwC62uGYn-V1mBJ98qTR9WL8j8lapIxkyYqjyPDwHm1Mto1B5ESUisGx97JSWpc5wxYqWeGJ5PidfBL6ZUltXOqOrqGMvgAq~hGmChfZaSzFi-wgtLMGKnvw4B1ZBNFfP36hIpXDQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Ohio Legislature","date","2025-02-26T00:00:00Z","article","County auditors, school officials and several utilities told the House Energy Committee that House Bill 15, as drafted, would move tax revenue away from counties that host generation facilities and toward counties with more transmission infrastructure, with harmful consequences for local schools, emergency services and county governments.

Paul Knipp, Lawrence County auditor, said the bill “proposes eliminating the public utility personal property or PUP tax on electric generation properties while increasing, the PUP assessment rate by 4% for electric transmission properties.” He told the committee Lawrence County’s single natural‑gas peaking plant carries a public utility personal property (PUP) value he said is “a little over $219,000,000,” and that the county would face a net valuation loss he estimated at roughly $30,800,000 under the bill’s structure. Knipp said the Rock Hill Local School District alone would lose about $1,900,000 annually and that the county’s general fund, EMS, fire and other local entities face multi‑hundred‑thousand‑dollar losses.

Robbie Jackson, Gallia County auditor, and Jack Webb, treasurer of the Gallia County Local School District, gave similar testimony. Jackson estimated Gallia’s generation value at $173,000,000 and transmission value at roughly $96,000,000, projecting a countywide annual revenue loss he put at about $3,800,000. Webb said the district would lose about $2,700,000 in annual revenue, would likely reduce certificated staff by 20 or more positions and face larger levy burdens on remaining taxpayers. “We will struggle to continue operations with the $2,700,000 annual funding loss,” Webb said.

Lake County Auditor Christopher Galloway described Perry Nuclear Plant’s PUP value (listed in committee testimony as about $52,900,610) and said the plant currently generates more than $4.4 million in local revenue, including more than $2.3 million for Perry Local Schools. Galloway cautioned the bill would create a powerful NIMBY (not‑in‑my‑backyard) incentive if communities hosting plants no longer received tax benefit.

Several county witnesses pressed committee members to provide a credible, legally binding “hold harmless” solution if the legislature intends to change tax treatment. Witnesses said prior hold‑harmless promises have not always fully materialized and urged caution.

Utilities and power sector witnesses also testified. Craig Grooms of Buckeye Power (Ohio’s electric cooperatives) urged the committee to adopt tangible personal property provisions like those in Senate Bill 2 that target incentives to new generation rather than transfer revenues from existing resources. Mark Reiter, president and COO of AEP Ohio, opposed major provisions of HB15 that would repeal electric security plan (ESP) authorities and the legacy generation rider (LGR). Reiter told the committee AEP Ohio plans $5 billion in investments to meet demand and said, “If this bill passes without amendments, we won't invest because our balance sheet won't have the capacity nor the credit profile to support it.”

Buckeye Power and co‑op testimony warned that increasing taxes on transmission and distribution would ultimately raise costs for cooperative members and other consumers; Grooms said transmission costs for co‑ops had more than tripled over the past decade and that higher tax assessments on those assets would translate into higher bills.

An expert witness from Energy Policy Network summarized PJM and national reliability analyses, noting retirements and announced closures in PJM, supply‑chain constraints for gas turbines, and that most new capacity in the interconnection queue is intermittent wind and solar. The witness urged consideration of policies to preserve or replace base‑load capacity and cited examples of other states that have required replacement generation before closures or that preserve mothballed plants as spinning reserve.

Committee chairs and members responded that they hear the local fiscal concerns and that changes to the bill are expected. Chairman Holmes said the committee will work on a substitute bill and seek amendments; he asked stakeholders to submit amendment language to the vice chair’s office by Friday so a substitute could be circulated next Wednesday. Members emphasized the goal of encouraging new generation while protecting local governments and school districts from abrupt revenue shocks.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Ohio House Energy Committee - 2-26-2025","oneSentenceSummary","County auditors, school officials and utilities told the House Energy Committee that House Bill 15 would shift tax revenue away from counties that host electric generation plants and toward counties with more transmission infrastructure, threatening local school and emergency service budgets.","taxTitle","Energy and Natural Resources, House of Representatives, Committees, Legislative, Ohio","taxId",37264,"location","Ohio","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6302870,"Ohio Business Roundtable urges faster permitting, new Office of Energy Resiience in energy competitiveness study",1103,239000,1342000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2475905-5d6c1ccb54604cb2be2b93c3ec14cbb0&start=239&end=1342","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2475905-5d6c1ccb54604cb2be2b93c3ec14cbb0/thumbnail_239000.jpg","/articles/6302870/Ohio/Ohio-Business-Roundtable-urges-faster-permitting-new-Office-of-Energy-Resiience-in-energy-competitiveness-study","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6302870-ac4075736e25842a375fe7d967d88d64/orig.mp4?Expires=1775413679&Signature=BwHJ~pu~TKxOIrUok96CpeariAGF2K7Nk-yPNWKzxPljot07zNnF4vocVt3iDKHzgRjUgyt5HMcFODqc2GSRX1x1Rzp6KFqSt-4Fuv2TG8EIt0ke~p4SFxhquq7N0TheaA35~0hqmXgkwzXxPtKXjosF2mOjOGwb-cgZXvUEBJbAjgfOScL4DRJhsnoZhWhEVTu1f80OfIY8fzAjPu5YEqxIbvx7dEImAI6tcawXcFckQhIF7kajiUKDVNprp3TU9En8BNPe9lBdSQGoHU~mDETWuv76Ncr7g0XxRtoEPEkK-nO1h27vocGHZ5hdkKhwtuEWQpKp2PJPB-kHDeZnfQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Alexandra Denney, representing the Ohio Business Roundtable, presented invited testimony to the House Energy Committee summarizing the group’s Energy Competitiveness Study and a set of state‑focused recommendations to speed new generation and transmission.

Denney said Ohio is seeing a rapid rise in electricity demand tied to advanced manufacturing and data centers and warned that retirements in the PJM footprint are creating a growing gap between supply and demand. “We need more generation, in order to meet that demand as well as transmission,” Denney said.

The study recommended a set of changes the Roundtable describes as state‑level, pragmatic steps. Key proposals included a 90‑day “shot clock” to shorten the Ohio Power Siting Board permitting timeline (the current average cited in the study was 366 days), creation of an Office of Energy Resilience (described as economic‑development focused rather than a regulatory agency), and designation of “priority investment areas” to receive faster siting and a shorter 45‑day shot clock plus a temporary tax exemption for new generation in those areas.

Other recommendations highlighted in the testimony included clarifying the legal framework for behind‑the‑meter generation, limiting regulatory lag in rate cases by adhering to the existing 275‑day review clock, and establishing a study committee to evaluate grid‑enhancing technologies (GETs). Denney said GETs can offer efficiency, affordability and potential cybersecurity benefits but acknowledged many aspects are governed by PJM and federal regulators.

Denney also urged coordinated state advocacy at PJM and federal levels, citing recent PJM queue reforms and calling for a more proportionate voice for Ohio in the Association of PJM States. She pointed to Congressman Balderson as a federal ally on generation deployment.

Committee members asked Denney about the Roundtable’s posture toward pending legislation; Denney said the Roundtable offered the study as a consensus product and did not enter as a proponent or opponent of specific bills. She confirmed many of the study’s recommendations overlap with provisions in Senate Bill 2 and said the group could provide more targeted comparisons on request.

The testimony emphasized that the study is intended as a practical, state‑level set of fixes to speed projects into service while noting some issues — interconnection queue reform, capacity market cadence and some transmission decisions — fall to PJM or federal authorities.

The Roundtable’s full study was submitted to the committee as written testimony and Denney said the organization is available to answer follow‑up questions.","An invited witness representing the Ohio Business Roundtable told the House Energy Committee the state needs faster siting and permitting, a non‑regulatory Office of Energy Resilience, and incentives to speed new generation and transmission to meet rising demand from data centers and industry.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

County auditors, school officials and utilities warn House Bill 15 would shift tax burden from generation‑hosting counties to urban areas

Ohio Business Roundtable urges faster permitting, new Office of Energy Resiience in energy competitiveness study