Ohio Regulator Approves Non-Solar Alternative Compliance Payment for 2019

The Ohio Public Utilities Commission on June 5 set the alternative compliance payment for the non-solar portion of the state’s renewable portfolio standard at about $53 per megawatt-hour for 2019. Ohio has a target to procure 12.5 percent of electricity from renewables by 2027, with a solar carve-out of 0.5 percent.

Electric distribution utilities or electric services companies are subject to alternative compliance payments if annual benchmarks are not met. The 2019 annual benchmark is set at 5.5 percent including 0.22 percent for solar. The non-solar compliance payment, which was initially set at $45 per megawatt-hour in 2009, is adjusted annually to reflect changes in the federal Consumer Price Index. The commission staff filed a report in April recommending a payment of $52.62/MWh for this year using the relevant data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The compliance obligations under Ohio’s RPS have been shifting from electric distribution companies to competitive retail suppliers as consumers are exercising their choice of electric service providers, according to the commission’s annual report released in March. Competitive suppliers were responsible for about 77 percent of Ohio’s overall compliance obligations in 2017, while distribution utilities accounted for the remainder.