PUCO Nominating Council makes recommendations to Gov. DeWine

The PUCO Nominating Council has submitted the names of four finalists to be considered by Gov. Mike DeWine for the position of commissioner of the PUCO to serve a term beginning on April 11, 2024 and ending April 10, 2029. After considering many highly qualified applicants, the Nominating Council recommended the following individuals:

• Jenifer French
• Michael Davala
• Ronald Salatin
• Stephen Serraino

The PUCO Nominating Council is a broad-based 12-member panel charged with screening candidates for the position of commissioner. 

More information about the appointment process is available here.

PUCO approves rail crossing upgrades in six counties

The PUCO has approved safety upgrades at 27 rail crossings in Coshocton, Huron, Knox, Licking, Muskingum and Perry counties. These crossings will receive flashing lights, gates and/or other safety improvements.

The PUCO is responsible for evaluating Ohio’s public grade crossings to determine the need for installing active warning devices. Since the PUCO began implementing these evaluations, the annual number of train-motor vehicle crashes in Ohio has decreased significantly, from 356 in 1990 to 61 in 2022.

Read more about these improvements here.

Special Reconnect Order still available

The PUCO's Special Reconnect Order (SRO) is still available until April 15, 2024, for Ohioans struggling with utility disconnections. 

Under the SRO, residential customers can pay $175 to reconnect or maintain service. There are no income eligibility requirements and the customer only needs to mention the order when contacting their utility. Last year, over 198,000 Ohioans benefited from this order.

More information about the SRO and other assistance programs is available here.

PUCO accepts results of natural gas auctions

On January 24, the PUCO accepted the results of CenterPoint Energy Ohio's and Columbia Gas of Ohio's auctions for their standard choice offers (SCO). 

Those auctions secured natural gas supplies for customers of each company through March 31, 2025. The SCO applies to choice-eligible customers who have not selected an alternative supplier. 

Learn more about CenterPoint's auction here.

Learn more about Columbia's auction here.

OPSB authorizes transmission line construction, suspends procedural schedule

In January's monthly meeting, the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) approved an agreement allowing AEP Ohio Transmission Company to construct a new 138 kilovolt (kV) transmission line in Scioto County. The new transmission line is part of a larger set of projects designed to upgrade the transmission system in the county.

Read more about this decision and others from the monthly meeting here.

The OPSB has suspended the procedural schedule regarding the Kensington Solar project, a proposed 135 megawatt solar-powered electric generation facility in Columbiana County.

As a result of the suspension, the local public hearing and adjudicatory hearing scheduled for February and March, respectively, have both been canceled. Project developer Kensington PV I has been directed to provide a status update on the case within a period of five months.

More details are available here.