Earlier this week, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that FirstEnergy does not have to refund its customers $43 million that the company overcharged from 2009-2011 to comply with Ohio’s Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). This ruling is further evidence of why it is critical for Ohio policymakers to repeal the RPS and allow retroactive refunds for improper charges, which is addressed in House Bill 247.

Our report, The Impact of Renewables Portfolio Standards on the Ohio Economy, drew criticism for showing what would happen if utilities overcharged to comply with the RPS, and this case validates our analysis. At the time, and many times since, we have highlighted the need to reform Ohio’s energy marketplace to ensure customers are not forced to subsidize producers’ bad decisions, as these FirstEnergy customers are being forced to do now.

This case shows how customers will be impacted when utility companies overcharge for expensive RECs, and further shows that Ohio consumers would be best served by a repeal of the renewable energy mandates, thus negating the chance of something like this from happening again.

But even better for Ohio customers, would be energy policy reforms that roll back restrictive regulations, eliminate subsidies to any energy company, and encourage choice and competition.

Quinn Beeson is the economic research analyst at The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center.