For Immediate Release
COLUMBUS, OHIO (October 5, 2018)—The Alliance for Industrial Efficiency has announced its work with key Ohio businesses as part of Energy Efficiency Day, which is October 5. Energy Efficiency Day provides an opportunity to bring advocates, companies, government agencies, utilities and others to showcase the benefits of energy efficiency.
More than 108,000 Ohio residents now work in clean energy industries in every county in the state according to a new analysis of energy jobs data from Clean Energy Trust (CET) and the national, nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs). Ohio’s clean energy workforce employs more than 12 times as many people as all the computer programmers and web developers in the state combined, according to Department of Labor employment statistics.
Energy efficiency leads all clean energy sectors in Ohio, employing 79,653 workers and accounting for seven in ten of all clean energy workers.
Ohio companies Energy Optimizers, Geauga Mechanical and T.H. Martin, Inc. are participating in a targeted social media campaign to showcase the benefits of energy efficiency while expressing concern about Ohio legislation (House Bill 114) that would cut resources for energy efficiency. As Ohio approaches the end of the year and this General Assembly’s tenure, residents must understand the bill’s impact on almost 80,000 energy efficiency workers in the state.
House Bill 114 includes a mercantile opt-out, which creates a loophole for corporations on their electric bills, letting these companies opt-out of a charge on their bill and shifting costs to consumers and small businesses.
“We are very concerned about the efforts currently being considered under House Bill 114,” said Greg Smith, founder and president of Energy Optimizers. “I do not understand why special exemptions should be created for mercantile customers (which represent nearly 50-percent of the electrical usage in Ohio). Allowing a special exemption for these customers will be a huge step back for our industry.”
“Ohio House Bill 114 will lead to billions in lost economic opportunity for Ohio businesses,” said Jennifer Kefer, executive director for Alliance for Industrial Efficiency. “If the state has a genuine interest in curbing energy costs for consumers and growing the state’s energy efficiency industry, it must find a way to involve all customers and all utilities in realizing this potential.”
The social media campaign will include quotes from Thomas Martin, president of T.H. Martin, Inc., Greg Smith, CEO of Energy Optimizers, and Craig Berman, CEO of Geauga Mechanical. The information focuses on the importance of energy efficiency and the impact of policies that roll back these investments on Ohio’s future and the future of businesses in the state.
Media Contact: Jennifer Kefer, 202-816-9302, jennifer@dgardiner.com or Julie Theado, 614-774-6358, julie@krilecommunications.com