Ohio Attorney General Rejects Proposed Referendum to Overturn Nuclear Subsidy Law

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Aug. 12 rejected the summary of a proposed ballot measure submitted by Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts to repeal legislation enacted last month to subsidize nuclear and coal plants.

The law requires electric customers to pay new monthly surcharges from 2021 through 2027 to raise $150 million per year to subsidize FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.’s ailing nuclear plants. The measure also scales back the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 8.5 percent by 2026 from the previous level of 12.5 percent by 2027, and phases out the energy efficiency standards in 2020.

Yost found 21 instances of inaccuracies or omission of statutory language in the summary explaining the proposed measure to potential signers, and concluded that it cannot be certified as “a fair and truthful summing up of the measure to be referred.” Errors identified range from inaccurate definitions of terms such as “electric distribution utility” and “operational risks,” to misstating the procedures described in the law.