By Farah Siddiqi
Ohio News Connection
Ohioans could soon feel the pinch of rising energy costs.
A bill passed by the U.S. House, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, would repeal key clean energy tax credits, driving up household energy bills and threatening job growth in the state. The legislation is under Senate review and could unwind many incentives, including the Inflation Reduction Act, which helped attract more than $11 billion in private investment to Ohio.
Molly Bryden, climate and sustainability researcher for Policy Matters Ohio, said the investments created quality union jobs and brought cost-saving clean energy projects to the state.
“The Inflation Reduction Act didn’t just create jobs – it created good jobs with good working conditions,” Bryden said. “Also, the apprenticeship requirements for the bonus tax credit allows workers without formal training in a certain sector to develop equitable pathways to good union jobs in the trades.”
According to a Policy Matters Ohio report and Energy Innovation modeling, the bill would increase annual household energy spending in Ohio by nearly $180 in 2030 and more than $400 by 2035, totaling $11 billion in higher costs by 2035.
Robbie Orvis, senior director of modeling and analysis for the nonpartisan think tank Energy Innovation, said the bill’s effects go beyond households, risking industrial development and energy affordability across the board.
“When those tax credits are removed, a lot less of that clean electricity gets built and our electricity gets a lot more expensive,” Orvis said. “It would push out developers and manufacturing facilities that are helping to bring industries to the U.S.”
If passed, analysts said the legislation could cost Ohio nearly 38,000 jobs and shrink the state’s GDP by $53 billion through 2034. The Senate is expected to make its revisions in the coming weeks.
Pictured at top: Photo via Adobe Stock.