PUCO Chair Andre Porter sees big changes coming for power companies
COLUMBUS, Ohio –If there is any one person in Ohio who can influence what you’ll pay for electricity in the coming years, it is Ohio’s new utility boss Andre Porter.
Hand-picked by Gov. John Kasich to chair the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the Alliance native sees big changes coming for the industry that powered the nation’s growth throughout the 20th Century.
His positions could prove pivotal in how the PUCO handles FirstEnergy and AEP Ohio rate cases now pending before the commission.
The industry is closely watching how the commission rules on FirstEnergy’s case. Hearings on the case are set to begin Monday and last weeks.
The company is asking for an unprecedented deal requiring its Ohio companies to buy all of the electricity generated by the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant and the coal-burning R.W. Sammis power plant at whatever it cost to generate for the next 15 years. Opponents are calling it a “bailout” because the two power plants cannot compete with low-priced gas-fired plants.
Porter recently agreed to an interview to talk about some of the major issues facing Ohio and the nation’s electric utility industry.
