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Ohio Consumers Council seeks larger budget, subpoena and intervention powers in HB 96 testimony
Summary
Maureen Willis of the Ohio Consumers Council told the committee OCC needs increased FY26–27 funding, authority to accept grants, and expanded legal tools including subpoena power and a right to intervene in PUCO proceedings to continue and expand advocacy for residential utility consumers.
Maureen Willis, the Consumers Counsel, told the House Natural Resources Committee that the Ohio Consumers Council (OCC) needs increased funding and additional authorities to continue representing residential utility customers in regulatory and federal forums.
Willis said OCC is funded by an assessment on utilities—not General Revenue Fund dollars—and currently costs consumers about 2.68 cents per $100 of utility bills. The governor recommended modest increases totaling $843,000 across the biennium (a $585,000 increase for FY26 and $258,000 for FY27). OCC requested larger increases: $1,974,000 for FY26 and an additional $165,000 for FY27, which would raise the agency’s operating budget to roughly $8.28 million in FY26 and $8.453 million in FY27, according to Willis.
Willis argued the additional money would restore OCC’s purchasing power after years of flat funding and would allow the office to retain outside consultants and technical experts—economists, engineers and attorneys—needed for complex rate and federal cases. She said OCC’s work has produced large consumer savings in recent rate-related proceedings and that the office returns about $29 in consumer savings for every dollar spent.
In addition to funding, Willis asked the committee to adopt amendment language attached to OCC’s testimony that would: (1) clarify that no bond is required when a public officer seeks to stay execution of a final PUCO order; (2) allow OCC to issue subpoenas in PUCO cases; (3) permit OCC to intervene as a matter of right in PUCO proceedings; and (4) authorize OCC to accept grants (with limitations to avoid conflicts of interest, she said).
Committee members thanked OCC for its work. Representative Salvo asked what types of grants OCC would seek; Willis said the agency would pursue outreach and study grants but would not accept funding from utilities the PUCO regulates. Representative McNally clarified OCC is not seeking additional staff but funding for outside experts and consultant contracts that the agency uses for technical representation.
Willis identified OCC’s governing-board chair Mike Watkins and vice chair Cheryl Grossman and named Angelo O’Brien as the deputy. She invited legislators to consult OCC on constituent utility issues and to use OCC’s public materials and fact sheets.
