In Ohio, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) regulates providers of all kinds of utility services including electricity and natural gas companies, water and wastewater companies, local and long distance telephone companies, and rail and trucking companies. PUCO also regulates the intrastate hazardous materials transport. Further, PUCO assures the Ohioans with adequate, safe, and reliable public utility services at a fair price.
PUCO performs the following functions:
- protects Ohioans by monitoring and enforcing PUCO rules and state laws against unfair, inadequate and unsafe public utility and transportation services;
- resolves disputes between competing utilities, residential, business, and industrial customers;
- guarantees availability of adequate, safe and reliable services to all residential, business, and industrial consumers;
- provides Ohioans with information about their rights and responsibilities as a utility customer; and
- controls utility service rates.
Moreover, the PUCO through its Ohio Biomass Energy Program provides information, resource referrals, business connections, and periodic funding assistance for supporting the development and use of biomass energy resources in Ohio.
Likewise, the Ohio Power Siting Board promotes sound energy policies that provide installation of energy capacity and transmission infrastructure for the benefit of the Ohio citizens. The board again promotes the state’s economic interests, and protects the environment and land use in the state.
The Ohio Energy Resources Division of the Ohio Government Department of Development promotes the growth of state economy by connecting companies and communities to financial and technical resources. The division in like manner provides incentives to deploy renewable energy and energy efficiency in Ohio.
In addition, the Division of Mineral Resources Management (DMRM) in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) provides for the safe and environmentally sound development and restoration of mineral and fossil fuel extraction sites. DMNR also regulates oil and gas drilling, producing, plugging, and oil field waste disposal operations. And, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) regulates the general environmental protection.
Ohio Public Utilities Commission
Ohio Energy Resources Division
