Solar eclipse 2024: The best events throughout Ohio PUCO can correct policy error if Ohio legislators fail to do so

Ohio will be one of the few states to experience a total solar eclipse on April 8.

With a 124-mile-wide path of totality, Ohio is expecting an influx of tourism as people travel from all over the country to come witness this rare phenomenon. A solar eclipse is a celestial event that occurs when the moon casts its shadow across the Earth as it travels between the Earth and the Sun. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon appears to totally obscure the Sun, blanketing the sky in complete darkness. The last appearance of a total solar eclipse in Ohio was in 1806, and the next total solar eclipse is not expected to visit the state until 2099.

What time is the total eclipse of the sun in Ohio?

This year, the total solar eclipse will be visible in Ohio from 3:08 p.m. to 3:19 p.m., with a partial solar eclipse beginning at 1:59 p.m.

Much of the state is expected to witness totality, with many cities preparing for a major tourism boom. Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo, Bowling Green and Akron are just a few cities inside the path of totality that have already began to witness the economic impacts of the total solar eclipse.

According to a Columbus Dispatch article from last June, experts say this eclipse’s economic impact on Ohio could exceed $100 million. When it was in the path of totality in 2017, South Carolina saw millions of new visitors, resulting in an estimated impact of $269 million. With travelers expected to spend money on hotels, food and dining, transportation, retail services and more, many businesses across northwest Ohio are preparing for a surplus of new customers. The state is anticipating a boom in tourism that will have substantial economic impacts across Ohio.

This spectacular event is a once-in-a-generation experience, so it is crucial to find the most optimal viewing location for this remarkable sensation. Many places within the path of totality are expecting large crowds, so make time to enjoy all that Ohio has to offer before, during and after the eclipse.

Great places to watch the eclipse in Ohio?

As cities prepare for the new tourists traveling to witness the total solar eclipse, many businesses are hosting events to allow for their customers to have the best viewing experience. See the list below to learn more some of the exciting events happening throughout the state for the eclipse.

Columbus

The Solar Eclipse Solar-bration at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium will provide eclipse viewing glasses and invites guests to enjoy the eclipse while learning about the science behind wildlife research.

Toledo

The Toledo Zoo is hosting a “Total Eclipse at the Zoo” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. where guests can enjoy fun activities and learn about animal behaviors during an eclipse.

Sandusky

Cedar Point is opening for the earliest time ever for their “Total Eclipse of The Point” from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Cleveland

The Cleveland Museum of Art will be showcasing the new exhibit “Barba Bosworth: Sun Light Moon Shadow.”

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame “Solar Fest” from April 5 to 8 will include live music and activities for all visitors to enjoy.

Akron

The “Total Eclipse of the Zoo” at the Akron Zoo welcomes guests to visit the animals while enjoying fun crafts and learning about the eclipse.

Dayton

The National Museum of the United States Air Force will have food trucks and educational activities for visitors to enjoy the day of the eclipse.

Cincinnati

IKEA in West Chester is hosting a “Solarbration Pre-eclipse party” with limited-edition IKEA Solar eclipse glasses available each day while supplies last.

Steve Stivers is president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Five years ago, state lawmakers enacted the infamous House Bill 6, and the fallout still spreads.

Most notably, the convictions of Larry Householder, a former House speaker, and others on federal corruption charges have been followed by the indictments of three other leading players on related state offenses. The trio amounts to no less than a former Firstenergy chief executive, the company’s former lobbying chief and a former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

Lawmakers did repeal the element that stirred the most controversy at the time, requiring ratepayers to subsidize the operation of two nuclear power plants. Worth adding is this subsidy at least carried an aspect of good intentions.

Those plants, along with others across the country, are crucial to addressing climate change at the pace advised by scientists. They are clean energy, essentially, and needed to advance the necessary transition from fossil fuels.

Other provisions of House Bill 6 were carelessly shortsighted. For instance, the legislation ended both energy efficiency programs and the state’s renewable energy benchmarks. Yet, arguably, an even more misguided step was extending subsidies for two aging coal-fired power plants, one in Gallia County, near the West Virginia border, and the other in Indiana.

The monthly charge to customers for the coal-fired plants, $1.50, actually exceeded the charge for the nuclear plants, 85 cents. Now, the PUCO has a chance to correct this policy error, short of lawmakers doing so.

Critics of the subsidy, including the Citizens Utility Board of Ohio and the Union of Concerned Scientists, have taken their case to the commission. Their argument appears strong: The subsidy fails the test of prudence and reasonableness.

The two power plants date to the 1950s. They are owned by a consortium of utilities, called the Ohio Valley Electric Corp. Today, the group includes AEP Ohio,

Duke Energy and AES Ohio. For years, the plants met the electricity needs of the uranium enrichment operation in Piketon. Two decades ago, the federal government canceled its contract with OVEC, and the plants began selling power to the wholesale market.

That went well enough — until the boom in natural gas.

Around 2010, OVEC and its shareholders faced the challenge shared by other utilities: Their coal-fired plants no longer could compete with the abundant and cheap natural gas-fired alternative. This hard reality contributed heavily to the steady, and continuing, closures of coal-fired plants.

Why do the OVEC plants still operate? The PUCO came to the rescue. The commission allowed OVEC to charge customers a monthly fee to help with the plant expenses. The arrangement was packaged as a hedge. Customers would receive a refund if revenues exceeded costs. The trouble is that costs routinely have outpaced revenues. A PUCO member once worried presciently about an “illusory insurance policy.”

As a result, ratepayers have paid and paid. They have done so, as critics point out, though less expensive alternative sources have been available, including solar and wind.

Consider that the Michigan Public Service Commission examined this matter last year. It concluded that Indiana-michigan Power, an AEP affiliate and OVEC member, experienced about $1.3 million in excess 2020 costs because it went with coal rather than lessexpensive alternatives. Put another way, the Michigan commission found the utility acted imprudently and unreasonably. It explained why OVEC shareholders, not ratepayers, must cover the costs.

The PUCO would do well to reach the same conclusion.

No doubt, the shift from fossil fuels requires a careful transition. They cannot, in all practicality, be abandoned suddenly. Yet when the opportunity arises, it is crucial to press forward. Without the current subsidy, the OVEC plants wouldn’t survive. This chapter of House Bill 6 isn’t environmentally or financially sound.

Michael Douglas was the Beacon Journal editorial page editor from 1999 to 2019. He can be reached at mddouglasmm@gmail.com.