Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

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Contact: Ryan Lippe
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Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Migden-Ostrander earns regional leadership award

COLUMBUS, Ohio – January 14, 2010 – Advocating for energy efficiency benefits has earned Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander the Inspiring Efficiency Leadership Award. It will be presented by the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance tonight in Chicago as part of the alliance’s Midwest Energy Solutions Conference.

Migden-Ostrander prioritized the need for energy efficiency and demand response programs in Ohio and throughout the Midwest. The nomination cites her consistent, aggressive efforts that have led to significant programs being launched by electric and natural gas utilities throughout Ohio. She helped the state develop and put into law its first energy efficiency standards.

“When you examine the benefits and costs of reducing our demand for electricity, it is much more cost effective than building a new power plant,” said Migden-Ostrander. “This honor represents the tremendous amount of work that my staff and I have performed, with the support of the Consumers’ Counsel Governing Board, to implement energy efficiency in a meaningful way in Ohio.”

Migden-Ostrander set a new standard for how the interests of residential customers are represented by forming Ohio Consumer and Environmental Advocates (OCEA). The organization shows that consumer and environmental groups can and should work together toward common goals, she said. OCEA played a significant role in cases related to energy efficiency and renewable energy issues. The group is battling threats to the strong benchmarks achieved in Ohio’s electric energy law, which passed in 2008.

Similarly, Migden-Ostrander successfully created collaborative working groups for each electric and natural gas utility in Ohio to pursue a cooperative approach to energy efficiency. These working groups provide a forum for working through complex issues in energy efficiency such as program designs, cost-effectiveness tests and measurement and verification protocols among other issues, in order to achieve best practices.

Editor's note:
High-resolution photographs and a bio of Consumers' Counsel Janine Migden- Ostrander can be downloaded from the OCC website at www.pickocc.org/mediacenter/migden-ostrander.

About the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate, represents the interests of 4.5 million households in proceedings before state and federal regulators and in the courts. The state agency also educates consumers about electric, natural gas, telephone and water issues and resolves complaints from individuals. To receive utility information, brochures, schedule a presentation or file a utility complaint, residential consumers may call 1-877-PICKOCC (1-877-742-5622) toll free in Ohio or visit the OCC website at www.pickocc.org.