Most residents in Columbus are serviced by American Electric Power. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
City of Columbus voters are projected to approve Issue 1 — which aims to establish an Electric Aggregation Program to bargain with electric companies by grouping a large portion of the city into a single electricity buyer.
Preliminary results show the issue will pass with 75.7 percent of the vote with all precincts reported and only absentee ballots not received by boards of elections prior to Election Day to be counted. Ohio accepts absentee ballots 10 days after the election as long as they are postmarked by the Monday before the election.
The program combines residents and small businesses into a single bargaining group. According to multiple reports, the aggregate program will contract with American Electric Power, with the opportunity for residents to opt out of the program.
Proponents of Issue 1 include Mayor Andrew Ginther and the environmental advocacy group Sierra Club. Cathy Cowan Becker, Ohio chair of Ready for 100 — a focus of the Sierra Club to move cities toward 100 percent clean energy — said the result in Columbus was not shocking.
“I was thrilled but not entirely surprised because public opinion polling shows that people really like renewable energy — as close to a consensus issue as we get in our society,” Becker said Wednesday.
Leading up to the election, supporters proposed that the passing of the measure would allow for the city to bargain with an energy provider to offer clean, renewable energy and lower electric prices for residents.
There was no official opposition against the measure, according to Ballotpedia, but a noted downside by those opposed included the lack of options when selecting an energy provider.
Issue 1 was put on the ballot July 23 after a vote from the Columbus City Council.
Update: This article was updated Wednesday at 10:21 a.m. with voting data from all reporting election precincts.
Update: This article was updated Wednesday at 11:47 a.m. with a quote from Cathy Cowan Becker.
