Ohio lawmakers finally acted in concert to rid Ohioans of a nearly $400,000 a day burden when they voted to end the subsidies for two outdated and unprofitable coal-fired power plants — one of which is in Indiana.

The Ohio Valley Electric Corp. plants had been getting bailed out by a “legacy generation rider” in the infamous House Bill 6, back in 2019. For some, subsidies in HB 6 for coal-fired plants were deemed worse than those for nuclear plants, as the 1950s-era coal-fired plants were producing electricity that wasn’t needed, and are significant polluters.

“It was an outrageous misuse of public funds — sending hundreds of thousands of dollars a day to an aging coal plant in Indiana,” said state Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-28th District. “Putting an end to that is a victory for ratepayers across the state.”

Nearly every lawmaker who voted understood that. An amended version of the bill passed the state Senate unanimously. And the state House of Representatives passed it with those changes 94-2. Only state Reps. Don Jones, R-95th and Jason Stephens, R-93rd, voted against the measure.

Ohio Manufacturing Association President Ryan Augsburger said repealing the subsidies is a victory for manufacturers, too.

“Ohio has an abundance of natural resources, a strong workforce, world-class educational institutions and now the foundation for a nationally leading energy industry,” Augsburger said. “Now is the time for Ohio’s energy system to pull ahead and attract a new generation, bringing with it new economic investments.”

House Bill 15 is headed to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk, and surely he will add his signature soon. But in the meantime, lawmakers are to be commended for ending this drain on already struggling ratepayers and giving Ohio’s energy landscape the opportunity to move on.