COLUMBUS -- "I am standing here today representing the Ohio consumer, a voice that is often mentioned but rarely heard in Ohio’s energy debate. We know our fight against FirstEnergy’s multiple attempts to saddle Ohio ratepayers with higher electric bills is a bit of a David and Goliath-scale battle. But we hope you will hear our opposition to this bill.

And we are not alone. As you may have noticed during last week’s proponent testimony, over the course of nearly four hours, only those wanting to keep the two nuclear plants open testified. There was no support demonstrated by any other sector you say will benefit from this bill—no support from coal, natural gas, wind, solar, hydropower, or energy efficiency. Their absence was noticeable and should have you asking the question as to why a bill you say is not a bailout is only supported by those who want a bailout.

Our members remain staunchly opposed to rewarding FirstEnergy’s bad business decisions by allowing them to dig deep into the pockets of Ohio ratepayers to cover the bill with no end in sight. We also remain deeply disappointed that that this legislation would reject energy innovation and job growth while keeping Ohio firmly planted in the dark ages of energy technology."

-- Rachael Belz, Project Director, Ohio Consumers Power Alliance

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