Panelists urge restoring energy efficiency, expanding demand response and protecting low‑income customers

At a Columbus Metropolitan Club forum on Ohio’s power outlook, a consumer‑focused former regulator and others urged prioritizing energy efficiency and demand‑side programs to lower bills for low‑income customers and reduce the need for expensive peak generation.

"Affordability is an extremely important concept," said Janine Migden Ostrander, a fellow at the Pace University Law School Energy and Climate Center and former Ohio Consumers' Counsel, citing her view that energy burden already causes disconnections and shortfalls for many households. "On average, 1 in 10 customers may be disconnected from electric or gas service because of unaffordability. 1 in 5 struggles to make their payments within 60 days," she said, and she urged restoring statutory energy‑efficiency obligations that were removed from earlier legislation.

Migden Ostrander and others recommended several policy tools to reduce system costs and customer bills: stronger energy‑efficiency programs and weatherization for low‑income households, expanded demand‑response programs and time‑of‑use rates tied to smart meters, and competitive procurement so the least‑cost supply wins. "The very least cost option is energy efficiency," she said. Panelists agreed that demand response — such as cycling residential air conditioning for short intervals on voluntary programs — can lower the need for expensive peaking power and avoid broader disconnections.

An audience member noted that climate change had not been a primary focus of the panel discussion and asked how the state’s emissions track into the debate. "Ohio has led the country in emissions reductions within PJM since 2005," said Todd Schnitzler, adding that fuel switching and other technology deployments have reduced emissions in the region. Panelists said energy efficiency and renewables both lower customer costs and environmental impacts, but they also disagreed on the pace and scale of near‑term generation choices needed to preserve reliability.

Speakers urged public participation in regulatory proceedings and legislative hearings. Migden Ostrander recommended that customers "write your legislators" and engage at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio when utilities request rate changes. The panel highlighted tradeoffs among affordability, reliability and environmental goals and urged policymakers to design programs that protect vulnerable households while enabling the investments needed to serve large new loads.