NOPEC honors Washington County lawmaker

COLUMBUS – A state senator from Washington County was among four recipients of an inaugural award from the energy aggregation agency NOPEC.

Ohio Sen. Brian M. Chavez, R-Marietta, received the Energy Champion Award recognizing officials who protect Ohio energy consumers and for contributions to the passing of House Bill 15 and Senate Bill 2 this year.

"This is a true honor to receive this distinguished recognition for working to advance Ohio," Chavez said.

HB 15 increases transparency for consumers on issues of state energy prices in the state and improves Ohio's energy infrastructure by providing reduced tax rates to allow new generation sites to open. SB 2 also makes improvements to the state energy market and encourages competition in the market and prevents hidden fees on customers' bills.

"This historic legislation addresses several major topics that even individually could be considered daunting."

Protecting rate payers through increasing scrutiny through the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio while setting a stage for economic development are two of the major themes, Chavez said. "Ohio is blessed with tremendous natural resources," he said. "This legislation is transformational because it addresses rate payer protection, regulatory certainty, and economic development."

Ohio Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, Rep. Sean Brennan, D-Parma, and Rep. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, also received the award for commitment to energy reform, consumer protection and competitive markets through their work on legislation and advocacy for transparency and reliability in the state's energy sector, NOPEC said.

NOPEC, which stands for Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, is a governmental energy aggregation agency in Ohio that uses the bulk buying power of 249 member communities to negotiate exclusive electric and natural gas rates for more than 930,000 residential and small business customers. It also advocates for consumer-friendly energy policies to protect against unfair utility rate increases.

The Energy Champion Award was established to recognize leaders who embody NOPEC's priorities and who advance policies that safeguard Ohio energy consumers.

"We are honored to recognize the efforts of Sen. Chavez and all the Energy Champion Award winners," Chuck Keiper, executive director and CEO of NOPEC, said. When leaders work together to pass pro-consumer energy laws that protect Ohio ratepayers, it's truly worth celebrating. Both pieces of legislation will benefit the average consumer while also improving the energy market."

Chavez is a first-term senator and represents the 30th Senatorial District of Washington, Athens, Belmont, Meigs, Morgan, Monroe, Noble, Harrison and Jefferson counties and part of Guernsey County. A native of New Mexico, he and his wife, Christy, own and operate oil and gas companies in Marietta.