Bill > HB265

This bill amends Ohio's legal definition of a "public utility" to explicitly include submetering companies that resell or redistribute utility services (such as electricity, gas, sewer, sewage disposal, or water) to end-users within a building or facility. Currently, landlords and property owners are exempt from being considered a public utility when they allocate utility costs to tenants, but this bill creates a new category of "submetering company" that would be regulated as a public utility if they redistribute utility services. The bill specifically applies to submetering companies serving properties where utilities are originally provided by regulated public utilities, municipally-owned utilities, or utilities owned and operated exclusively by their customers. By creating this new definition, the bill aims to provide regulatory oversight for entities that resell utility services, ensuring consumer protections and standardized practices for utility redistribution. The legislation would add a new subsection (N) to the existing legal definitions of public utilities in Ohio's Revised Code, effectively bringing submetering companies under the regulatory framework of the state's public utilities commission.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb265