OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Public Utilities & Sustainability Committee Hearing (Nov 7, 2025)

Council Committees — Friday, November 7, 2025
BodyColumbus, Ohio
SessionCouncil Committees
DateFriday, November 7, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:47:00

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Us for the Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee hearing.

0:04

As usual, we're going to be breaking this hearing up into three different parts.

0:08

First, we'll have a presentation on updates to the city's climate action plan.

0:12

Then we'll hear our presentation on the city's community choice aggregation program, and we'll end our hearing with a presentation on proposed utility rates and fees for 2026.

0:23

Before I get started, I do want to acknowledge Councilmember Beatty for being here.

0:27

Thank you, Councilmember.

0:28

Please let me know if you have any opening remarks due to scheduling.

0:31

We're going to have some council members like dropping in and leaving.

0:35

So I don't want folks to be confused, just trying to fit everyone in.

0:40

With that being started, I want to give a little background for those who are unfamiliar with our city's climate action plan.

0:47

Since 2020, the City of Columbus has been pursuing climate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and being carbon neutral by 2050.

0:59

The first rendition of the climate action plan came to fruition in 2021 to further environmental justice and serve as a roadmap to meet climate resilience goals.

1:09

This update is about renewing our commitment to achieving our community's climate goals in spite of the challenges and issues at the federal and state level.

1:16

Here to present on the 2025 update is Brooke White, climate planning planning programmer with Sustainable Columbus.

1:23

Brooke, thank you for being here and thank you for the work that you're doing.

1:26

Floor is yours.

1:29

Thank you very much.

1:30

I appreciate that introduction.

1:32

And I'm excited to walk you through a presentation about the update process.

1:38

So as you mentioned, thank you very much.

1:41

We've been implementing the Columbus Climate Action Plan since 2021.

1:51

And we're now in the process of updating this plan in 2025.

1:56

So we very much see this as an opportunity to renew our commitments to our joint climate action goals.

2:03

And they are to reduce greenhouse gases by 45% by 2030 and to reduce them by 100% by 2050.

2:13

So this is kind of a long view timeline of the life of the climate action plan.

2:18

We very much see this as a living document that we are keeping relevant for our communities by updating it every five years and revising it every 10 years.

2:27

So we're going through the update process now in 2025.

2:31

And then we're already looking forward to 2030 when we will we will be doing the full revision of the plan.

2:37

And again, this creates a roadmap to achieve our climate goals of 45% reduction by 2030 and 100% reduction of greenhouse gases from the city of Columbus by 2050.

2:52

To give you a bit of a view into the process that we've been going through, this is a timeline of the update process for 2025.

3:01

So we kicked off the year by convening expert and leadership in order to inform the update of this plan.

3:09

So each climate action within the plan itself is associated with lead and supporting agencies to support the implementation of the action.

3:18

So we held a meeting with each of those lead and supporting agencies for each action one-on-one, as well as convening what we call the Climate Commitments Working Group.

3:28

This was a working group comprised of one member from each of the city departments to help give feedback on each of the elements of the plan update.

3:37

That continued through May, and then this summer we launched our public engagement that focused a lot on going out and giving presentations to neighborhood area commissions, educating, hearing their concerns, answering their questions, as well as giving access, letting folks know about a climate action survey that we put out.

3:57

So we also put this out through social media, and we were looking to hear from the public about how their lives are already being impact impacted by the effects of climate change in their everyday lives, as well as how they think we should prioritize our work amongst the climate actions that we have within the plan.

4:16

We started drafting this updated plan in September.

4:20

We're still in the drafting process, and we're looking forward to producing a finalized plan by February of 2026.

4:29

So this gives you a little bit of a flavor of what's in the plan.

4:32

So we have the sections of the plan here as well as the strategies that underpin those sections.

4:40

This plan both covers the community as a whole as well as covering our municipal operations.

4:45

So we're walking in the walk, not just talking the talk, but we're also working hand in hand with community and with partners to implement this across the city.

5:00

So the plan includes actions that both help our communities prepare for the impacts of climate change, things like hotter temperatures, flooding, droughts, as well as actions that help us reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from within the city.

5:09

So being part of the solution to reduce the impacts of climate change globally.

5:15

So as I mentioned, we are refreshing the plan.

5:18

We're not changing the structure of the plan at this time to give us greater continuity in our work, but we are updating it to reflect the current landscape landscape across our city, the current opportunities.

5:29

We are not backing down in our ambition.

5:31

We are assessing the challenges and we're assessing where we can lean in for most impact though.

5:37

So throughout our plan, I'll kind of go through some of the ways that we're updating the plan, what we're including in the document.

5:43

This is challenging to see.

5:45

We wanted to make sure that we're sharing the progress and the successes that we've seen across the city and other organizations and within the city itself.

5:55

And so the reason this is hard to see is because there's been a lot of success.

5:58

There's been a lot of movement.

6:00

I think one of the really big ways that we've seen success is building a culture of sustainability within city operations, as well as really being a leader leading the way for other organizations and for residents within the city.

6:15

So things like building a pipeline to careers in renewable energy, green jobs through the Empower program, building financial solutions through the Columbus Region Green Fund, and really thinking a lot about the two major sources of greenhouse gases from the city, which are transportation and energy use in buildings.

6:35

So really leaning hard with the Clean Energy Columbus program that we'll hear about in a bit.

6:40

That's been really heavy hitting in terms of reducing our mission our emissions and looking strongly at commercial buildings, how we can help them assess their use of energy and reduce it through the benchmarking programming and building performance standards that are coming in the future.

6:56

In terms of transportation, the combo of zone in with Link Us and the Bike Plus Plan are really going to help us target a very challenging source of greenhouse gas emissions in terms of transportation.

7:11

We're also highlighting the benefits that we're bringing to communities.

7:16

Oftentimes climate action is kind of a co-benefit of supporting the quality of lives of our residents.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████████████████████████████████48%
Environmental Protection████████████████17%
Public Engagement███████████12%
Energy Management████████9%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Economic Development████4%
Procedural███3%
Technology and Innovation█1%
Engineering And Infrastructure█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Columbus Public Utilities & Sustainability Committee Hearing (Nov 7, 2025)

The Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee convened on November 7, 2025, to discuss three primary agenda items: an update to the City of Columbus Climate Action Plan, the status of the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program, and proposed utility rate adjustments for 2026. The meeting featured presentations from city department heads and external stakeholders regarding climate goals, energy market challenges, and infrastructure financing.

Consent Calendar

  • No consent calendar items were discussed or presented; the hearing proceeded directly to the agenda items.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Shelley Douglas (Executive Director, Green Columbus): Expressed full support for the Climate Action Plan and Urban Forestry Master Plan but voiced strong concern and opposition regarding the lack of funding for implementation. She argued that the Department of Records and Parks faces budget cuts despite the need to double tree planting to meet the 40% canopy goal by 2050. Position: Urged Council to prioritize funding for tree planting in Parks, Rec Centers, and schools, stating that vulnerable residents are currently suffering from heat without tree cover.
  • Ryan Holmes (Quasi Lowe, Deputy Director, Columbus Stand Up): Expressed opposition to any additional rate hikes amidst an affordability crisis. Position: Urged Council to consider the impact on working-class families and to use their authority carefully when contracting with large data centers that consume significant utilities. Highlighted grassroots advocacy efforts regarding electricity costs.
  • Douglas Lumpkin: Expressed skepticism and concern regarding the timing of the rate increases so soon after a bond package passed. Position: Questioned the connection between the bond package and current rate hikes, arguing that residents cannot bear future infrastructure costs immediately without clearer justification and that loan programs should be prioritized over bonds to minimize interest costs.
  • Joe Motil (Written Testimony): Expressed confusion and questioned the necessity of building new capacity during drought conditions where current restrictions have not been applied. Position: Sought clarification on why investment is required now if current demand is not at maximum capacity.

Discussion Items

  • Climate Action Plan Update:

    • Brooke White (Sustainable Columbus) presented the 2025 update, reaffirming goals to reduce greenhouse gases by 45% by 2030 and 100% by 2050. She outlined strategies leaning into residential and commercial energy efficiency and expanding urban tree canopy.
    • Councilmember Weich: Expressed strong support for tree canopy, calling himself the "Lorax of Council." Position: Demanded a dedicated budget line item for tree expansion, stating it is unacceptable to mandate canopy growth without funding the capacity to achieve it. Noted that residents highlighted heat and air quality as top concerns during engagement.
    • Councilmember Beatty: Expressed gratitude for the work and acknowledged the alignment with city strategic goals.
    • Barriers Discussed: Speakers identified federal/state policy changes, fluctuating funding availability, and the difficulty of incentivizing private residents as major barriers to achieving goals.

  • Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Program:

    • Aaron Schmerz Schneider (Treyva Energy) reported the program is 100% renewable and meeting savings goals. However, he noted rising costs due to natural gas prices (~30% increase), plant retirements, AI/data center load growth, and federal tax incentive phase-outs.
    • Market Analysis: The speaker explained that natural gas comprises 45% of the regional base load, driving wholesale power prices. He noted the timeline for new projects has extended from 4 years to 7 years due to grid operator backlogs.
    • Progress: The program is currently 30% in-state renewable (goal is 60%), with the remainder covered by national Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
    • Councilmember Bangston: Asked for clarification on savings goals (confirmed met) and the definition of clean energy in the grid mix (clarified that the 45% natural gas refers to the broad 13-state grid, not the 100% CCA project).

  • 2026 Utility Rate Proposals:

    • Recommendations: The Utility Advisory Board (UAB) unanimously recommended an 18% increase in the water rate, 8% in sanitary sewer, and 2% in stormwater. This results in an average residential bill increase of ~$10.50/month ($126/year).
    • Justification: Deputy Director Lee explained the increases are necessary for the $2.3 billion Home Road Water Plant transmission line project (completion 2033) and to address aging infrastructure.
    • Commercial Rates: The Department proposed transitioning from a declining block rate to a uniform rate to ensure large users (e.g., data centers, breweries) pay their fair share of capacity costs. A one-year transition is proposed to avoid "rate shock," with a move toward an inclining block rate planned for 2027.
    • Affordability: The Department proposed increasing low-income discounts from 25% to 30% in 2026, with a goal to reach 40% by 2028. They noted that over 105,000 residents in Franklin County could be eligible, but the enrollment goal for 2026 is 17,000 (doubling current participation).
    • Bond Package Clarification: Councilmember Lumpkin questioned why bond funds ($500M) were not used for the water plant to offset rate hikes. Director Lee clarified that using loans (3% interest) is significantly cheaper than bonds (approx. 5% interest), and using bonds for this project would likely require a higher rate increase (potentially 20-25%) to cover the interest differential.
    • Data Centers: Councilmember Harden asked if data centers are driving growth. The Director stated that while they have peak demands, the primary driver is general residential and regional population growth (projected 3 million by 2050).
    • Affordability Concerns: Councilmember Harden expressed concern regarding "adjustment shock" for residents facing food and cost-of-living crises. Position: Emphasized the need to aggressively market assistance programs, noting that 70,000+ eligible residents are missing out on savings.

Key Outcomes

  • Adoption of Rate Adjustments: The Utility Advisory Board recommended, and the committee is prepared to deliberate on, the following effective January 1, 2026: Water +18%, Sanitary Sewer +8%, Stormwater +2%.
  • Commercial Rate Structure: The Department will proceed with a one-year transition to a uniform commercial rate in 2026 before moving to an inclining block rate in 2027.
  • Low-Income Assistance: The rate proposal includes a commitment to increase low-income discounts to 30% in 2026 and 40% by 2028, with a target to double enrollment to 17,000 participants.
  • Climate and CCA Goals: The committee acknowledged the 2025 Climate Action Plan update aligns with 45% reduction by 2030 and 100% by 2050. The CCA program continues to operate at 100% renewable status with cumulative savings near $60 million.
  • Action Item: The City Council is invited to connect with community organizations (e.g., Green Columbus, Columbus Stand Up, Impact Community Action) to improve outreach to eligible low-income residents.

Meeting Transcript

Us for the Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee hearing. As usual, we're going to be breaking this hearing up into three different parts. First, we'll have a presentation on updates to the city's climate action plan. Then we'll hear our presentation on the city's community choice aggregation program, and we'll end our hearing with a presentation on proposed utility rates and fees for 2026. Before I get started, I do want to acknowledge Councilmember Beatty for being here. Thank you, Councilmember. Please let me know if you have any opening remarks due to scheduling. We're going to have some council members like dropping in and leaving. So I don't want folks to be confused, just trying to fit everyone in. With that being started, I want to give a little background for those who are unfamiliar with our city's climate action plan. Since 2020, the City of Columbus has been pursuing climate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and being carbon neutral by 2050. The first rendition of the climate action plan came to fruition in 2021 to further environmental justice and serve as a roadmap to meet climate resilience goals. This update is about renewing our commitment to achieving our community's climate goals in spite of the challenges and issues at the federal and state level. Here to present on the 2025 update is Brooke White, climate planning planning programmer with Sustainable Columbus. Brooke, thank you for being here and thank you for the work that you're doing. Floor is yours. Thank you very much. I appreciate that introduction. And I'm excited to walk you through a presentation about the update process. So as you mentioned, thank you very much. We've been implementing the Columbus Climate Action Plan since 2021. And we're now in the process of updating this plan in 2025. So we very much see this as an opportunity to renew our commitments to our joint climate action goals. And they are to reduce greenhouse gases by 45% by 2030 and to reduce them by 100% by 2050. So this is kind of a long view timeline of the life of the climate action plan. We very much see this as a living document that we are keeping relevant for our communities by updating it every five years and revising it every 10 years. So we're going through the update process now in 2025. And then we're already looking forward to 2030 when we will we will be doing the full revision of the plan. And again, this creates a roadmap to achieve our climate goals of 45% reduction by 2030 and 100% reduction of greenhouse gases from the city of Columbus by 2050. To give you a bit of a view into the process that we've been going through, this is a timeline of the update process for 2025. So we kicked off the year by convening expert and leadership in order to inform the update of this plan. So each climate action within the plan itself is associated with lead and supporting agencies to support the implementation of the action. So we held a meeting with each of those lead and supporting agencies for each action one-on-one, as well as convening what we call the Climate Commitments Working Group. This was a working group comprised of one member from each of the city departments to help give feedback on each of the elements of the plan update. That continued through May, and then this summer we launched our public engagement that focused a lot on going out and giving presentations to neighborhood area commissions, educating, hearing their concerns, answering their questions, as well as giving access, letting folks know about a climate action survey that we put out. So we also put this out through social media, and we were looking to hear from the public about how their lives are already being impact impacted by the effects of climate change in their everyday lives, as well as how they think we should prioritize our work amongst the climate actions that we have within the plan. We started drafting this updated plan in September. We're still in the drafting process, and we're looking forward to producing a finalized plan by February of 2026. So this gives you a little bit of a flavor of what's in the plan. So we have the sections of the plan here as well as the strategies that underpin those sections. This plan both covers the community as a whole as well as covering our municipal operations. So we're walking in the walk, not just talking the talk, but we're also working hand in hand with community and with partners to implement this across the city. So the plan includes actions that both help our communities prepare for the impacts of climate change, things like hotter temperatures, flooding, droughts, as well as actions that help us reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from within the city. So being part of the solution to reduce the impacts of climate change globally. So as I mentioned, we are refreshing the plan. We're not changing the structure of the plan at this time to give us greater continuity in our work, but we are updating it to reflect the current landscape landscape across our city, the current opportunities. We are not backing down in our ambition. We are assessing the challenges and we're assessing where we can lean in for most impact though. So throughout our plan, I'll kind of go through some of the ways that we're updating the plan, what we're including in the document. This is challenging to see.

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