Legislation sponsored by Rep. Diane Grendell (R-Chesterland) to give the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) wider authority recently passed the Ohio House Public Utilities Committee. HB 381 was introduced in response to customers of investor-owned utilities being unfairly charged commercial rates for separately metered secondary buildings. The bill aims to create rules for the PUCO to verify and inspect additional metered structures to ensure they are not being commercially used.
The legislation was improved in committee as Rep. Dick Stein (R-Norwalk) sponsored an amendment to exempt electric cooperatives, noting that PUCO rulemaking should not apply to co-ops.
HB 381 now awaits a vote of the entire Ohio House of Representatives.
