Representatives from several organizations across Ohio held a press conference outside of the Columbus Convention Center Monday afternoon to demand the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to make utilities more affordable.
Organizations in attendance included Columbus Speak Up!, Common Cause Ohio, Coffee Compassion Action, Save Ohio Parks, Buckeye Environmental Network and Between the Waters. They addressed the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (MACRUC), which is set to begin Monday night.
The MACRUC has an admission cost of $800, which the organizations felt excluded utility customers, especially those hit hardest by rising rates.
“We cannot afford to continue to pay these outrageous utility profits,” said Morgan Harper from Columbus Speak Up! “The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio is not listening. They answer to Wall Street, not Main Street. Instead, we see the legislature, we see the past administrations in the state of Ohio, including John Kasich, just sign off for deals that allow for data center build-out that will only make the problem worse.”
Other organizations echoed Harper’s sentiment.
“What's missing from the Public Utilities Commission and other regulators is us. This conference is not centered around the needs and concerns of utility customers,” said Mia Lewis from Common Cause Ohio. “In fact, it almost feels like consumers would be shut out completely if we weren't here today and speaking up.”
The organizations called on the PUCO to implement a moratorium on rate increases, creation of a utility debt amnesty program and to hold public town halls in every Ohio county. Advocates also urged the PUCO to treat wind and solar energy generation the same way it treats gas plants.
