WORKERS TESTIFY IN SUPPORT OF SB 221
Increased Reliability Standards Will Increase Ohio’s Competitiveness
Five workers, all from industries directly affected by the result of the ongoing debate on SB 221, the Governor’s Energy Bill, testified on February 13 to the House Public Utilities Committee on a part of the bill that hasn’t had much discussion in previous hearings --- reliability and modernization of Ohio’s electric infrastructure.
George Whalen, of the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) and retired lineman for Dayton Power and Light; Ted Robison, union representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and lineman for AEP; Ken Erdmann and Phil LaCourse, linemen for Toledo Edison, and Steve McHenry, of the United Steelworkers Union and employee of Ormet Corp. of Hannibal, Ohio told committee members how deregulation has affected their jobs and the reliability of our state’s electric power.
Erdmann and LaCourse said that since 1998 and deregulation, Toledo Edison has lost nearly one-third of its skilled workforce, dropping from 170 employees engaged in transmission and distribution work, to 116.
They showed disturbing TV news clips to committee members that demonstrated Ohio’s aging electric infrastructure and chronic lack of repair. “Restructuring legislation in Ohio has resulted in utility companies sacrificing customer reliability in order to meet competitive demands,” they said.” . . . it is also a major deterrent to attracting new business to the region.”
Robison, who worked as a lineman for 27 years with AEP, agreed. “When deregulation was passed . . . the number of qualified skilled employees dropped,” he testified. “Since that time, with fewer employees to do the work and less money being invested in the infrastructure of the grid, outage times and frequency of those outages have increased.”
Whalen, who testified against deregulation 10 years ago, said that their fears are coming true in terms of its effect on reliability, service and staffing levels. “I have seen overtime increase from eight hours a week to 20 to 40 hours a week on a regular basis.”
“Thirty years ago mutual aid was a rarity,” Whalen said. “Today it is commonplace . . . It is one of the most expensive and least effective forms of storm restoration,” he said. “In the late 1960s DP&L advertised on billboards as 99.8 percent outage free. Where are we now?”
McHenry represented the United Steelworkers Union and the Ormet Corp. and spoke to the real costs of electricity for the aluminum producer. The company employs more than 1,000 in Monroe County, and its highest cost is its electricity bill.
“A reliable and affordable source of energy means that Ormet remains profitable and in turn provides the high paying jobs with good benefits that our members use to support their families and their communities,” McHenry said. “We believe the Governor’s energy plan provides this.”
