(A) As used in this chapter:

(1) "Major utility facility" means:

(a) An electric transmission line and associated facilities of a design capacity of one hundred twenty-five kilovolts or more;

(b) A gas or natural gas transmission line and associated facilities designed for, or capable of, transporting gas or natural gas at pressures in excess of one hundred twenty-five pounds per square inch.

"Major utility facility" does not include electric, gas, or natural gas distributing lines and gas or natural gas gathering lines and associated facilities as defined by the public utilities commission; facilities owned or operated by industrial firms, persons, or institutions that produce or transmit gas or natural gas, or electricity primarily for their own use or as a byproduct of their operations; gas or natural gas transmission lines and associated facilities over which an agency of the United States has certificate jurisdiction; facilities owned or operated by a person furnishing gas or natural gas directly to fifteen thousand or fewer customers within this state.

(2) "Person" has the meaning set forth in section 4906.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) Each person owning or operating a gas or natural gas transmission line and associated facilities within this state over which an agency of the United States has certificate jurisdiction shall furnish to the commission a copy of the energy information filed by the person with that agency of the United States.

(C) Each person owning or operating a major utility facility within this state, or furnishing gas, natural gas, or electricity directly to more than fifteen thousand customers within this state shall furnish a report to the commission for its review. The report shall be furnished annually, except that for a gas or natural gas company the report shall be furnished every three years. The report shall be termed the long-term forecast report and shall contain:

(1) A year-by-year, ten-year forecast of annual energy demand, peak load, reserves, and a general description of the resource planning projections to meet demand;

(2) A range of projected loads during the period;

(3) A description of major utility facilities planned to be added or taken out of service in the next ten years, including, to the extent the information is available, prospective sites for transmission line locations;

(4) For gas and natural gas, a projection of anticipated supply, supply prices, and sources of supply over the forecast period;

(5) A description of proposed changes in the transmission system planned for the next five years;

(6) A month-by-month forecast of both energy demand and peak load for electric utilities, and gas sendout for gas and natural gas utilities, for the next two years. The report shall describe the major utility facilities that, in the judgment of such person, will be required to supply system demands during the forecast period. The report from a gas or natural gas utility shall cover the ten- and five-year periods next succeeding the date of the report, and the report from an electric utility shall cover the twenty-, ten-, and five-year periods next succeeding the date of the report. Each report shall be made available to the public and furnished upon request to municipal corporations and governmental agencies charged with the duty of protecting the environment or of planning land use. The report shall be in such form and shall contain such information as may be prescribed by the commission.

Each person not owning or operating a major utility facility within this state and serving fifteen thousand or fewer gas or natural gas, or electric customers within this state shall furnish such information as the commission requires.

(D) The commission shall:

(1) Review and comment on the reports filed under division (C) of this section, and make the information contained in the reports readily available to the public and other interested government agencies;

(2) Compile and publish each year the general locations of proposed and existing transmission line routes within its jurisdiction as identified in the reports filed under division (C) of this section, identifying the general location of such sites and routes and the approximate year when construction is expected to commence, and to make such information readily available to the public, to each newspaper of daily or weekly circulation within the area affected by the proposed site and route, and to interested federal, state, and local agencies;

(3) Hold a public hearing upon the showing of good cause to the commission by an interested party.

If a hearing is held, the commission shall fix a time for the hearing, which shall be not later than ninety days after the report is filed, and publish notice of the date, time of day, and location of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the person furnishing the report has or intends to locate a major utility facility and will provide service during the period covered by the report. The notice shall be published not less than fifteen nor more than thirty days before the hearing and shall state the matters to be considered.

(4) Require such information from persons subject to its jurisdiction as necessary to assist in the conduct of hearings and any investigation or studies it may undertake;

(5) Conduct any studies or investigations that are necessary or appropriate to carry out its responsibilities under this section.

(E)

(1) The scope of the hearing held under division (D)(3) of this section shall be limited to issues relating to forecasting. The power siting board, the office of consumers' counsel, and all other persons having an interest in the proceedings shall be afforded the opportunity to be heard and to be represented by counsel. The commission may adjourn the hearing from time to time.

(2) The hearing shall include, but not be limited to, a review of:

(a) The projected loads and energy requirements for each year of the period;

(b) The estimated installed capacity and supplies to meet the projected load requirements.

(F) Based upon the report furnished pursuant to division (C) of this section and the hearing record, the commission, within ninety days from the close of the record in the hearing, shall determine if:

(1) All information relating to current activities, facilities agreements, and published energy policies of the state has been completely and accurately represented;

(2) The load requirements are based on substantially accurate historical information and adequate methodology;

(3) The forecasting methods consider the relationships between price and energy consumption;

(4) The report identifies and projects reductions in energy demands due to energy conservation measures in the industrial, commercial, residential, transportation, and energy production sectors in the service area;

(5) Utility company forecasts of loads and resources are reasonable in relation to population growth estimates made by state and federal agencies, transportation, and economic development plans and forecasts, and make recommendations where possible for necessary and reasonable alternatives to meet forecasted electric power demand;

(6) The report considers plans for expansion of the regional power grid and the planned facilities of other utilities in the state;

(7) All assumptions made in the forecast are reasonable and adequately documented.

(G) The commission shall adopt rules under section 111.15 of the Revised Code to establish criteria for evaluating the long-term forecasts of needs for gas and electric transmission service, to conduct hearings held under this section, to establish reasonable fees to defray the direct cost of the hearings and the review process, and such other rules as are necessary and convenient to implement this section.

(H) The hearing record produced under this section and the determinations of the commission shall be introduced into evidence and shall be considered in determining the basis of need for power siting board deliberations under division (A)(1) of section 4906.10 of the Revised Code. The hearing record produced under this section shall be introduced into evidence and shall be considered by the commission in its initiation of programs, examinations, and findings under section 4905.70 of the Revised Code, and shall be considered in the commission's determinations with respect to the establishment of just and reasonable rates under section 4909.15 of the Revised Code and financing utility facilities and authorizing issuance of all securities under sections 4905.40, 4905.401, 4905.41, and 4905.42 of the Revised Code. The forecast findings also shall serve as the basis for all other energy planning and development activities of the state government where electric and gas data are required.

(I)

(1) No court other than the supreme court shall have power to review, suspend, or delay any determination made by the commission under this section, or enjoin, restrain, or interfere with the commission in the performance of official duties. A writ of mandamus shall not be issued against the commission by any court other than the supreme court.

(2) A final determination made by the commission shall be reversed, vacated, or modified by the supreme court on appeal, if, upon consideration of the record, such court is of the opinion that such determination was unreasonable or unlawful.

The proceeding to obtain such reversal, vacation, or modification shall be by notice of appeal, filed with the commission by any party to the proceeding before it, against the commission, setting forth the determination appealed from and errors complained of. The notice of appeal shall be served, unless waived, upon the commission by leaving a copy at the office of the chairperson of the commission at Columbus. The court may permit an interested party to intervene by cross-appeal.

(3) No proceeding to reverse, vacate, or modify a determination of the commission is commenced unless the notice of appeal is filed within sixty days after the date of the determination.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.125, SB 315, §101.01, eff. 9/10/2012.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.20, HB 95, §1, eff. 9/9/2011.

Effective Date: 01-01-2001 .