Ohio Democrats Ask DeWine to Veto Submetering Bill
Ohio Democrats are urging Gov. Mike DeWine to veto House Bill 173, warning the submetering measure could roll back a decade’s worth of consumer protections for apartment renters.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Ohio House Bill 173, a measure setting rules for submetering companies that resell utility power to apartment and condo residents, passed the General Assembly last week and now awaits action from Gov. Mike DeWine. Democratic state legislators are pressing DeWine to veto the bill, arguing it falls short of the protections tenants need.
What Submetering Companies Do and Why Critics Object
Submetering companies purchase electricity at wholesale prices and resell it to apartment or condominium tenants at retail rates, earning a profit on the markup. Tenants have long complained about inflated charges, unexpected power shutoffs, and inadequate customer service from these utility resellers.
Residents who rely on submetering companies are also unable to shop for competing energy rates or enroll in utility payment assistance programs—options available to customers served directly by traditional utilities. Lawmakers from both parties had been working on legislation to address these concerns.
What the Bill Does and Doesn’t Do
Ohio House Bill 173 caps what submetering companies can charge tenants at 3% below the standard utility rate. Ohio state Sen. Shane Wilkin, R-Hillsboro, explained the reasoning behind that provision.
“In testimony,” Wilkin said, “we heard ‘we are a value add to properties,’ and we said if you are a value add there has to be a monetary value add that goes to the tenant.”
Despite those new protections, the bill conflicts with a recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling and passed over the objections of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
The bill’s sponsor, Ohio state Rep. David Thomas, R-Jefferson, defended the measure as a way to establish clear policy through the legislature rather than leaving it to state regulators.
“The joke is that none of the bills I pass make anybody happy,” Thomas said with a chuckle, “but I actually take that as a compliment, because that typically means that we’ve struck the right balance.”
Democrats Warn of Consumer Protection Rollback
Ohio state Reps. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, and Sean Brennan, D-Parma, sent a letter to Gov. DeWine urging him to reject the legislation. The two warned that the bill risked “a potential backslide in consumer protections that Ohioans have been asking for for over a decade.”
It remains unclear when DeWine will act on the bill. If signed, Ohio House Bill 173 would establish the state’s formal regulatory framework for submetering companies going forward.
