SHOCK: Ohio Gov. Questions Energy Deregulation; Not "Smartest" Thing
April 17,2014
In swearing in new Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Thomas Johnson, Ohio Gov. John Kasich made comments critical of electric deregulation, according to a report from Dan Gearino in The Columbus Dispatch
"The ideological effort to deregulate, I'm not so sure it's the smartest thing we've done in the state of Ohio," Gearino quotes Kasich as saying.
Kasich's comments come as "competitive" generators -- both those native to Ohio and those based in nearby states -- seek ratepayer support or other public subsidies for their now uneconomic merchant plants.
Kasich's comments sadly bolster rumors about non-market support for certain competitive generation in Ohio -- including reports of the potential for the next electric security plan of one of the major electric distribution companies to contain some type of support for competitive generation in exchange for rate stability, effectively seen as "re-regulation" of the generation by one Wall St. analyst.