House Energy Committee adopts substitute for House Bill 15, lowers tax on new generation and shortens review clocks for utilities

The House Energy Committee adopted a substitute amendment to House Bill 15 at its fourth hearing, advancing a package of changes to Ohio energy policy that include a reduced tax on new generation, new deadlines for utility and siting reviews, and changes to net‑metering and rate‑case procedures.

Chairman Holmes, chair of the House Energy Committee, opened the session and said the panel would "introduce and accept substitute bill, House Bill 15," and called for the motion to amend. Vice Chair Klopfenstein, vice chair of the committee, moved to amend House Bill 15 with the circulated substitute and then walked members through the principal provisions before the committee agreed to the motion by unanimous consent.

The substitute reduces the tangible personal property (TPP) tax rate for new generation and energy-conversion facilities from 25% to 7% while leaving existing plants and their current tax treatment in place. Vice Chair Klopfenstein said the lower rate is intended to keep Ohio competitive for new projects and to encourage base‑load generation and industry development.

The substitute also makes several procedural and regulatory changes for state energy regulators. It creates a PUCO (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) "shot clock" for rate cases — a multi-step timeline described by sponsors that includes a staff report at 180 days and a temporary rate taking effect if a case is not completed by the approximately…