OGWA testifies to Ohio Legislature

November 4, 2025

"Mr. Chairman, Committee Members, my name is Matt Coday. I am the President & Founder of Oil & Gas Workers Association. On behalf of our members and all the hardworking men and women of the oil and gas industry here in Ohio and across the country, I want to thank Senators Lang and Romanchuk for bringing this bill. 

We have been sold out. Our government has been picking winners and losers and taxing us to subsidize expensive, unreliable intermittent wind and solar that are imported mostly from China and Europe and do not create American jobs. Wind and solar make our power grids less reliable, increase costs, and make us more dependent upon – and vulnerable to -- China and other hostile foreign nations.

President Trump and our great Vice President J.D. Vance – who happens to be from the Buckeye State -- say it all the time: “Energy security is national security.”

It is absolutely a matter of national security that we prevent China and all other foreign countries from controlling our power grids. That includes not bringing more of their wind turbines and solar installations that are prone to failure and more susceptible to cyber attacks onto our grids.

When we talk about utility bills and cost, we always hear the argument about letting “free market principles work”. Free market principles do not exist when the government is subsidizing wind and solar.

We are all familiar with the misnomer “Inflation Reduction Act”. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris enacted horrible fiscal and “Green New Deal” policies that are responsible for driving up the national debt right now.

The Inflation Reduction Act Section 45Y tax credits give wind and solar up to a 2.75 cents per kWh tax credit for 12 years for producing energy to the grid. Ohio natural gas producers don’t get that. They pay taxes into the state and generate severance taxes that benefit every Ohioan. Our jobs and Ohio oil and natural gas production fund roads, schools, hospitals, social programs, and our First Responders.

That last part is doubly important. As more wind and solar have been brought onto our power grids, domestic demand for natural gas has been displaced. When we produce less natural gas, the state receives less money in severance taxes. When the state receives less money in severance taxes, all of you in the Legislature have to find new ways to meet the state’s budgetary obligations. That often means you have to raise taxes on hardworking families. We can solve those problems, ensure the grid is reliable, and generate more severance tax revenue so you can lower taxes for hardworking Ohioans.

We have seen the failures of “green” fantasies. California and Germany — and more recently Spain and Portugal — are great examples of what NOT to do. High gas prices. High taxes. Skyrocketing utility bills and unreliable grids that fail and leave millions of people powerless.

I have seen it in my home state of Texas. So-called “renewables” now account for 30% of power generation. The grid is less reliable. Utility bills have gone up. It’s sad to watch my home state turn into the California of the South.

USA oil and natural gas is reliable, affordable energy. American Oil & Gas Workers power the nation and fuel the world.

SB 294 clearly defines affordable, reliable, and clean energy. There is no question which energy sources will continue to provide reliable power and lower utility bills for Ohioans. Prioritizing those sources of affordable, reliable, clean energy makes sense for everyone

Thank you for your time. Thank you for putting Ohio workers and families first."