COLUMBUS (WJER) - Our local state representative says the energy bill signed by the governor this week to save Ohio’s two nuclear plants will end up lowering customers’ bills across the state. 

98th District State Representative Brett Hillyer says DeWine signed House Bill 6 the same day the House approved the Senate’s version of the bill that will generate $170-million a year to keep FirstEnergy Solutions in operation and provide funding for clean energy projects. Hillyer says the bill adds an 85-cent fee to every residential electricity bill in Ohio, but ultimately eliminates efficiency and renewable energy mandates.

“House Bill 6 gets rid of the monthly expenses that residents already pay and, by the way, starting next year are going to double if we didn’t pass HB 6, so that every resident in the state of Ohio and across Tuscarawas County is going to save about $58 to $80 a year,” he says.

Hillyer says the bill also gives industrial businesses more freedom to use renewable energy sources on site.

“It increases the amount of wind power that large industrial consumers can self-generate on their own property so long as their community allows it,” he says. “That will allow them to lock in their rates for the next 10 to 20 years and cut their costs.”

HB6 applies to regulated utility companies like AEP. People who receive their power from utilities like the Dover Light Plant will not see the fee added to their bills. Hillyer says residents can expect to see the change in their bill sometime in the next three months. 

WJER RADIO