Ohio Supreme Court upholds utility commission decision allowing coal plant bailout fee
The court rejected arguments from manufacturers and environmental groups that utilities overcharged customers $115 million for unprofitable coal plants.
Energy
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PJM gets green light to push data centers onto back-up power during heat wave
The emergency orders also allow power plants to exceed pollution limits through July 3 as demand is expected to set a new grid record.
More than 15,000 acres of Ohio public land approved to be fracked by out-of-state companies
Gov. DeWine just signed a bill to speed up fracking approvals on state parks, as the commission approved $241 million in bids from Texas and Oklahoma companies.
Citizens Utility Board of Ohio questions programs that keep aging power plants running
The report says cost-recovery programs hide inefficiency from consumers, but PJM defends them as necessary for grid reliability amid data center growth.
Ohio officials to vote on opening 23,000 acres of public lands to fracking
State officials are scheduled to vote Monday to open or select a winning bid on about 23,000 acres of publicly owned wildlife preserves. This would significantly expand oil and gas exploration on Ohio’s public lands.
Legal protections for submetered renters saved by DeWine veto
Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed legislation that would have rolled back a new legal protection extended to renters at “submetered” apartments.
Ohio Democrats urge Gov. DeWine to veto submetering bill
Seven Ohio Senate Democrats joined House members in the veto push, citing a unanimous Supreme Court ruling last month that submetering firms must be regulated as utilities.
Ohio has blocked a lot of wind and solar. Its residents pay the price.
A Save Ohio Parks analysis finds Ohio blocked 5.3 GW of clean energy over 12 years, as Senate Bill 294 moves to make solar and wind approvals even harder.
Trump to pump $700M into coal power in the states, as he again blasts renewable energy
Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to fund coal plants and mines across nine states, drawing praise from GOP governors and fire from environmental groups who call it a polluter bailout.
Data center opponents give Ohio lawmakers an earful
Residents demanded a data center moratorium, citing water contamination risks, secrecy through NDAs, and inadequate state oversight during the committee's only public hearing.
6,000-acre solar project permit nixed by Ohio Supreme Court, for now at least
The state's Republican-led high court sided with Madison County officials who opposed the Shell subsidiary's project, citing missing visual renderings of substations.
Ohio utilities report subpar grid reliability as they seek a lower bar
Duke Energy and FirstEnergy want weaker reliability rules even as they miss current standards for the tenth consecutive year, drawing pushback from consumer advocates.
Top Husted aide lobbied for Ohio utility that profited from corrupt law
Husted's new senior advisor lobbied for AES, which made $77 million from the corrupt utility law at the heart of Ohio's biggest bribery scandal.
Confusing ballot wording may have tipped Ohio vote on renewables ban
Exit polling suggests voters actually opposed the ban 54-46, but confusing ballot language flipped the outcome to 53-47 in favor of keeping it.
Resident-led campaign fails to reverse Ohio county’s ban on renewables
This story was originally published by Canary Media. Residents in Richland County, Ohio, voted narrowly Tuesday to keep a ban…
Citing ‘unsustainable stress’ from price volatility, grid operator PJM lays out reform options
The nation’s largest electricity grid operator has called on power plant operators, investors, utilities and consumers to consider reforms to…
MAGA-friendly Richland county voters preserve ban on wind and solar
In a Republican-dominated district, voters narrowly upheld a ban on utility scale renewables in most of the county in a 53% to 47% vote. A referendum backer called the result disappointing, yet ‘telling.’
An Ohio court may OK fracking-waste wells despite pollution concerns
Ohio is moving to approve fracking waste wells in Washington County despite local opposition — while solar and wind projects face permit denials for the same kind of pushback.
Supreme Court won’t hear appeal in Ohio utility bribery case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from Larry Householder and Matt Borges, upholding convictions in Ohio’s HB 6 bribery scandal tied to FirstEnergy.
Ohio’s electric bills are high — and so are utility CEO salaries
As Ohio electric bills climbed 22% in February — the sharpest increase of any state but one — the CEOs of the state's four electric utilities collectively took home $81 million in 2025, including a $37 million payday for AEP's top executive.