COLUMBUS, OHIO--The Buckeye Institute's energy policy expert today praised a special legislative committee's recommendation that the General Assembly indefinitely freeze Ohio's renewable energy and energy efficiency mandates.
However,
the free market think tank expressed serious concern about Gov. John
Kasich's statement that he might not support the recommended freeze on
the alternative energy mandates, also known as Alternative Energy
Portfolio Standards.
"Ohioans
would experience higher energy prices and weaker economic growth if
these mandates remain," said Joe Nichols, the Institute's William &
Helen Diehl Energy and Transparency Fellow. "The
government should not be picking winners and losers, which hurts
Ohioans who can afford it the least -- poor and middle class families,
minorities, and those who live on fixed incomes. Reintroducing mandates
also makes it more difficult for companies to create jobs in Ohio."
On
the governor's indication that he may not support the committee's
recommended indefinite freeze, Robert Alt, President and CEO of The
Buckeye Institute, said: "We shouldn't return to the policy mistakes of
the Strickland administration by embracing another costly government
mandate."
The
energy mandates force Ohio utilities to buy increasing amounts of
renewable energy and implement energy efficiency programs. The
bipartisan, bicameral Energy Mandates Study Committee heard testimony
from The Buckeye Institute about how these mandates negatively impact
the state's economy and energy production.
