skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

U.S. gender wage gap grows for first time in a decade; Trump has embraced NC's Mark Robinson, calling him 'Martin Luther King on steroids'; Volunteers sought as early voting kicks off in MN; Women's political contributions in congressional races fall short of men's.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Bill to Freeze OH Energy-Efficiency Standards Headed for House Vote

play audio
Play

author Mary Kuhlman, Managing Editor

 Contact

Wednesday, May 28, 2014   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Energy-efficiency standards and many of the jobs they have created could be brought to a halt depending on the outcome of an Ohio House vote today.

Senate Bill 310 would freeze Ohio's current energy-efficiency and renewable-energy laws for two years.

Opponents of the standards claim they are too high and are increasing costs for businesses and consumers. However, Dave Rinebolt, executive director of Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy, said the standards already have helped create more than 25,000 new jobs and prompted investments of $800 million since 2009.

"Investments in energy-efficiency and renewable energy that customers have made have produced jobs and produced investments," he said. "We just hope the governor won't turn his back on the people who are benefiting from these programs."

Under the standards, Ohio utilities are required to reduce customers' power use by 22 percent and get 25 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025. The freeze would allow a panel of lawmakers time to study the effects of the standards, but Rinebolt and others said it's simply a way to disrupt the state's emerging clean-energy industry.

Rinebolt predicted a "freeze" would mean no energy-efficiency programs operating next year, resulting in lost jobs and less savings on utility bills.

"For example," he said, "the folks I work with will weatherize about 10,000 fewer households, and we will be laying off about 100 people."

SB 310 quickly made its way through the General Assembly before summer recess and is expected to be sent to Gov. John Kasich's desk after today's vote.

Details of the bill are online at legislature.state.oh.us.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Environment

play sound

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research. The report, by two Columbia students, shows the …


Alabama releases roughly 220,279 men and 78,247 women from its prisons and jails each year. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

So far in 2024, community health centers in North Dakota have screened 11,580 patients for food insecurity. Through those screenings, more than three thousand box meals have been distributed. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Social Issues

play sound

Like polling from other battleground states, the race for the White House remains close in Wisconsin. But fresh numbers out this week show some …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021