September 14, 2026
Energy Justice After HB15: The Work Ahead for Ohio
During my time as Climate Justice Manager on OEC’s Energy Team, I have seen how energy policy is never just about electrons, infrastructure, or legislation. It is about people: families deciding which bills to pay first, neighborhoods facing frequent outages, communities asked to host energy infrastructure, and Ohioans too often left out of the clean energy transition.
When Governor DeWine signed House Bill 15, Ohio took an important step toward a more affordable, reliable, and accountable energy future. For years, Ohioans have paid the price for an energy system shaped by utility influence, outdated infrastructure, and decisions that put profits before people. HB 15 began to change that by repealing the OVEC coal bailout, increasing grid transparency, strengthening rate case accountability, and opening opportunities for cleaner, more resilient energy.
But HB 15 was not the finish line. It was a reminder of why energy justice must remain at the center of OEC’s work.
Energy justice asks a simple but urgent question: who benefits from our energy system, and who bears the burden when it fails? For too many Ohioans, that burden shows up as unaffordable bills, unreliable service, unhealthy air, and limited access to clean energy tools that could lower costs and improve quality of life.
That question will continue to guide OEC’s work at the Statehouse. We will keep fighting for policies that expand access to clean, affordable energy, including HB 303’s community energy pilot; HB 427’s voluntary demand response opportunities for residential and small commercial customers; and plug-in solar policies that could help renters and apartment residents participate in small-scale clean energy.
Energy justice also shapes our advocacy before the Ohio Power Siting Board and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. As utilities seek rate hikes and propose grid investments, OEC will continue to push for protections that ensure customers are not simply asked to pay more but receive better service, cleaner energy, and a more resilient grid.
Our Grid Disparity Report makes clear why this work matters. In FirstEnergy’s service territory, disadvantaged communities were more likely to be served by older, lower-capacity infrastructure, while traditional reliability metrics failed to capture those disparities. The grid is not failing everyone equally, and the solutions cannot be one-size-fits-all.
This same commitment will shape my new role as OEC’s Southwest Ohio Regional Director. Across Cincinnati, Dayton, and the communities in between, energy justice is not abstract. It is about whether families can afford safe homes, neighborhoods have reliable power during extreme weather, local governments can invest in resilience, and communities have a voice in shaping their future.
HB 15 opened the door. Now we have to keep pushing it wider—toward affordability, reliability, clean air, local power, and justice for all Ohioans.
