The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is the

public utilities commission In the United States, it is a governing body of a utility. In Canada, it is a utility, not a regulatory body. Canada In Canada, a public utilities commission (PUC) is a public utility owned and operated by a municipal or local government under t ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, charged with the regulation of utility service providers such as those of electricity,

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

, and

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

as well as railroad safety and intrastate

hazardous materials Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...

transport.

Background

Responsibilities

The Commission is responsible for: *

Enforcement Enforcement is the proper execution of the process of ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, rules, standards, and social norms. Governments attempt to effectuate successful implementation of policies by enforcing laws and regulations. Ena ...

of laws against service deemed unfair or unsafe *Hearing disputes between utilities and residential, business, and industrial customers, as well as between competing utilities. *Assuring availability of residential, business, and industrial utility services *Providing consumers with relevant information about their rights and responsibilities *Regulating rates for utility services in which there is little to no competition (i.e. electricity and natural gas services) *Periodically creating and changing Ohio Administrative Code that is related to its mission *Acting in some manner to relate the relevant Administrative Code to the regulated and deregulated commercial utility activity Following the move toward deregulation of retail energy during the 1990s, the Ohio legislature set forth provisions for allowing competitive retail energy suppliers, in addition to the main distribution utility companies. In January 2018, PUCO launched an investigation to make sure benefits from the recently passed federal tax bill flow back to customers.

EPA Clean Power Plan

In February 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a

stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

of the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...

's "

Clean Power Plan The Clean Power Plan was an Obama administration policy aimed at combating anthropogenic climate change (global warming) that was first proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2014. The final version of the plan was unveil ...

" pending judicial review. The plan is a federal program with the goal of decreasing

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...

from power plants. To meet its goal, the EPA created targets for reducing carbon dioxide, with the levels varying state to state. Each state must develop its own plan to meet the EPA targets, which begin in 2022. PUCO has

litigated - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

against the Clean Power Plan on the grounds that it violates the Federal Power Act and violates

states' rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...

. Despite the state's opposition to the plan, PUCO said that Ohio is prepared to plan for implementation of new rules and regulations in the event that the plan survives legal challenges (PUCO's Division of Air Pollution Control is responsible for the implementation). PUCO's chairman, Asim Haque, said that the commission analyzed how much the Clean Power Plan would cost Ohio consumers and that "we believe those costs to be hefty."

Net metering policy

On November 8, 2017, PUCO adopted rules that affected

net metering Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly importa ...

policy. Net metering is the process by which solar homes or businesses sell back to the grid any excess energy they produce. Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, Interstate Gas Supply, Environment Law & Policy Center,

Ohio Environmental Council The Ohio Environmental Council is an environmental organization founded in 1969. Its work includes the environment, clean energy, and democracy. Environment OEC praised Columbus's Climate Action Plan. OEC jointly sought action against pollutio ...

, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Vote Solar, One Energy, FirstEnergy, AEP Ohio, and The Dayton Power and Light Company filed petitions either for a rehearing or against one. PUCO decided to have a rehearing on January 10, 2018.

Commissioners

There are five

commissioners A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

(one of whom serves as chairman) as well as approximately 320 agency employees. Each commissioner is appointed by the residing governor to a five-year term. Current commissioners, and their original appointers, are: * Jenifer A. French, Chair ( DeWine), through April 2024 * Daniel R. Conway ( Kasich), through April 2022 * Dennis P. Deters ( DeWine), through April 2026 * Lawrence K. Friedeman ( Kasich), through April 2025 * M. Beth Trombold ( Kasich), through April 2023

Notes

External links

Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO)PUCO Commissioners

Apples to Apples Natural Gas and Electric Rate Comparison Charts

File an informal complaint with the PUCO

File a formal complaint with the PUCO

Ohio Utility MapsUtility Information by Street Address
{{DEFAULTSORT:Public Utilities Commission Of Ohio Government of Ohio