Senate approves energy plan

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ The Senate has sent sweeping changes in Ohio's electric power policy to Gov. Ted Strickland, who has promised to sign it into law.

The Senate's unanimous vote Wednesday clears the way for changes that Strickland and legislators believe will protect consumers and make Ohio more attractive for business.

The Republicans who run the Legislature and Strickland, a Democrat, reached a compromise on the issues on Tuesday, the same day the House approved the legislation. Backers say the legislation will give residential customers the lowest possible bill and an incentive to businesses looking for stability and predictability in power rates.

The bill gives great authority to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, whose members are appointed by the governor, to determine how customers get their power _ through regulated rates or on the open market _ after the first two years.

Strickland and the Legislature want the regulated plans in place by the time current rate plans expire at the end of this year, or in the case of Dayton Power & Light, at the end of next year.

Last week, negotiations among the House, Senate and Strickland collapsed, and the leaders took a break and renewed their focus on Monday, agreeing to a plan that blends regulation with a slow move to buying power on the open market but giving customers the lower cost between the two.

The bill requires utilities to use renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and water, to generate 12½ percent of their total power load by 2025. The House decided to keep a Senate-proposed provision that cuts off the renewable requirement if its use causes electric bills to increase by more than 3 percent.

The bill also empowers regulators to cut rates if it determines that a utility has earnings significantly higher than those of other publicly held companies that do about the same amount of business _ a provision that Strickland had insisted upon.