Ohio’s New Energy Law Lays Groundwork for Industrial Innovation and Nuclear Growth

By Miranda Morrow, Energy Correspondent

July 1, 2025 — Columbus, OH - With the passage of H.B. 15, Ohio lawmakers have taken a substantial step toward modernizing the state's energy economy, clarifying regulations around Behind-the-Meter (BTM) generation, and enabling a future where energy-intensive businesses can strategically co-locate with power producers, including next-generation nuclear facilities.

A Long-Awaited Clarification for Behind-the-Meter Electricity

One of the bill’s most consequential provisions relates to behind-the-meter electric generation. Under the new law, Electric Distribution Utilities (EDUs) may now supply BTM generation—but only if the facilities were submitted to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) by March 31, 2025, under legacy mercantile customer agreements. While this exception is narrow, it signals a shift toward limited but legal direct energy sales behind the meter.

Importantly, EDUs are now prohibited from passing BTM-related costs to customers not participating in the BTM arrangement. The bill also bars EDUs from offering inducements to entice customers into BTM contracts and mandates regular PUCO audits to prevent abuse.

According to Jon Morrow, economist with the eGeneration Foundation, this change—though imperfect—marks real progress:

“Ohio has long needed a clearer, more balanced framework for BTM. While the law still protects incumbent utilities, it finally opens the door for nuclear plants to serve industrial partners directly, which is essential for keeping advanced technologies like plasma gasification viable.”

Better Economics for Co-Located Businesses

The clarification on BTM now allows some energy-intensive firms to explore shared-site models where power flows directly from a generator—such as a molten salt nuclear plant—to an adjacent operation. This model is particularly useful when grid pricing makes projects such as plasma gasification uneconomical.

An example cited by industry watchers is a dual-use facility where a nuclear plant feeds energy to the grid during the day, but shifts to privately serve a plasma gasification unit at night. This reduces reliance on variable market prices and enables predictable, 24/7 industrial operations.

Legislative Clean-Up and Market Fairness

H.B. 15 also repeals subsidies and mandates that previously favored renewables, such as the Solar Energy Credit program, and phases out charges supporting legacy generation resources like the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC).

For many in Ohio’s business and policy communities, this marks a departure from years of distortionary policy that propped up less reliable generation technologies. Instead, the focus now shifts to market efficiency, grid reliability, and energy cost competitiveness.

Charting a New Energy Future for Ohio

With H.B. 15 now law, Ohio begins to realign its regulatory architecture with the realities of 21st-century power markets. For the nuclear industry—and those planning to harness high-density energy for industrial processes—the reforms are a welcome if incremental step forward.

Donald Larson, Director of the eGeneration Foundation, praised the law:

“It’s a baby step, but a step in the right direction. Ohio’s economy relies on its ability to harness affordable, reliable power. The old rules punished innovation and rewarded chaos. H.B. 15 starts to change that.”

While more legislative and regulatory work is needed to fully unlock the potential of advanced nuclear and co-located industrial systems, the passage of H.B. 15 makes one thing clear: Ohio is no longer content to be a passive consumer of bad federal energy policy. It’s beginning to chart its own course.

House Representative Roy Klopfenstein is the sponsor of HB15 that was signed into law by Governor DeWine