Ohio § 5727.81

§ 5727.81.

(A) For the purpose of raising revenue to fund the needs of this state and its local

governments, an excise tax is hereby levied and imposed on an electric distribution

company for all electricity distributed by such company at the following rates per

kilowatt hour of electricity distributed in a thirty-day period by the company through

a meter of an end user in this state: KILOWATT HOURS DISTRIBUTED RATE PER TO AN END USER KILOWATT HOUR For the first 2,000 $.00465 For the next 2,001 to 15,000 $.00419 For 15,001 and above $.00363 If no meter is used to measure the kilowatt hours of electricity distributed by the

company, the rates shall apply to the estimated kilowatt hours of electricity distributed

to an unmetered location in this state. The electric distribution company shall base the monthly tax on the kilowatt hours

of electricity distributed to an end user through the meter of the end user that is

not measured for a thirty-day period by dividing the days in the measurement period

into the total kilowatt hours measured during the measurement period to obtain a daily

average usage.  The tax shall be determined by obtaining the sum of divisions (A)(1), (2), and (3)

of this section and multiplying that amount by the number of days in the measurement

period: (1) Multiplying $0.00465 per kilowatt hour for the first sixty-seven kilowatt hours distributed

using a daily average; (2) Multiplying $0.00419 for the next sixty-eight to five hundred kilowatt hours distributed

using a daily average; (3) Multiplying $0.00363 for the remaining kilowatt hours distributed using a daily average. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the electric distribution company

shall pay the tax to the tax commissioner in accordance with section 5727.82 of the Revised Code , unless required to remit each tax payment electronically in accordance with section 5727.83 of the Revised Code . Only the distribution of electricity through a meter of an end user in this state

shall be used by the electric distribution company to compute the amount or estimated

amount of tax due.  In the event a meter is not actually read for a measurement period, the estimated

kilowatt hours distributed by an electric distribution company to bill for its distribution

charges shall be used. (B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, each electric distribution company

shall pay the tax imposed by this section in all of the following circumstances: (1) The electricity is distributed by the company through a meter of an end user in this

state; (2) The company is distributing electricity through a meter located in another state,

but the electricity is consumed in this state in the manner prescribed by the tax

commissioner; (3) The company is distributing electricity in this state without the use of a meter,

but the electricity is consumed in this state as estimated and in the manner prescribed

by the tax commissioner. (C)(1) As used in division (C) of this section: (a) “ Total price of electricity ” means the aggregate value in money of anything paid or transferred, or promised

to be paid or transferred, to obtain electricity or electric service, including but

not limited to the value paid or promised to be paid for the transmission or distribution

of electricity and for transition costs as described in Chapter 4928. of the Revised

Code. (b) “ Package ” means the provision or the acquisition, at a combined price, of electricity with

other services or products, or any combination thereof, such as natural gas or other

fuels;  energy management products, software, and services;  machinery and equipment

acquisition;  and financing agreements. (c) “ Single location ” means a facility located on contiguous property separated only by a roadway, railway,

or waterway. (2) Division (C) of this section applies to any commercial or industrial purchaser's

receipt of electricity through a meter of an end user in this state or through more

than one meter at a single location in this state in a quantity that exceeds forty-five

million kilowatt hours of electricity over the course of the preceding calendar year,

or any commercial or industrial purchaser that will consume more than forty-five million

kilowatt hours of electricity over the course of the succeeding twelve months as estimated

by the tax commissioner.  The tax commissioner shall make such an estimate upon the written request by an

applicant for registration as a self-assessing purchaser under this division.  Such a purchaser may elect to self-assess the excise tax imposed by this section

at the rate of $.00257 per kilowatt hour for the first five hundred million kilowatt

hours, and $.001832 per kilowatt hour for each kilowatt hour in excess of five hundred

million kilowatt hours, distributed to that meter or location during the registration

year. A qualified end user that receives electricity through a meter of an end user in this

state or through more than one meter at a single location in this state and that consumes,

over the course of the previous calendar year, more than forty-five million kilowatt

hours in other than its qualifying manufacturing process, may elect to self-assess

the tax as allowed by this division with respect to the electricity used in other

than its qualifying manufacturing process. Payment of the tax shall be made directly to the tax commissioner in accordance with

divisions (A)(4) and (5) of section 5727.82 of the Revised Code, or in accordance

with section 5727.83 of the Revised Code .  If the electric distribution company serving the self-assessing purchaser is a municipal

electric utility and the purchaser is within the municipal corporation's corporate

limits, payment shall be made to such municipal corporation's general fund and reports

shall be filed in accordance with divisions (A)(4) and (5) of section 5727.82 of the

Revised Code, except that “municipal corporation” shall be substituted for “tax commissioner.”

 A self-assessing purchaser that pays the excise tax as provided in this division shall

not be required to pay the tax to the electric distribution company from which its

electricity is distributed.  If a self-assessing purchaser's receipt of electricity is not subject to the tax

as measured under this division, the tax on the receipt of such electricity shall

be measured and paid as provided in division (A) of this section. (3) In the case of the acquisition of a package, unless the elements of the package are

separately stated isolating the total price of electricity from the price of the remaining

elements of the package, the tax imposed under this section applies to the entire

price of the package.  If the elements of the package are separately stated, the tax imposed under this

section applies to the total price of the electricity. (4) Any electric supplier that sells electricity as part of a package shall separately

state to the purchaser the total price of the electricity and, upon request by the

tax commissioner, the total price of each of the other elements of the package. (5) The tax commissioner may adopt rules relating to the computation of the total price

of electricity with respect to self-assessing purchasers, which may include rules

to establish the total price of electricity purchased as part of a package. (6) An annual application for registration as a self-assessing purchaser shall be made

for each qualifying meter or location on a form prescribed by the tax commissioner.  The registration year begins on the first day of May and ends on the following thirtieth

day of April.  Persons may apply after the first day of May for the remainder of the registration

year.  In the case of an applicant applying on the basis of an estimated consumption of

forty-five million kilowatt hours over the course of the succeeding twelve months,

the applicant shall provide such information as the tax commissioner considers to

be necessary to estimate such consumption.  At the time of making the application and by the first day of May of each year,

a self-assessing purchaser shall pay a fee of five hundred dollars to the tax commissioner

for each qualifying meter or location.  The tax commissioner shall immediately pay to the treasurer of state all amounts

that the tax commissioner receives under this section.  The treasurer of state shall deposit such amounts into the kilowatt hour excise

tax administration fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury.  Money in the fund shall be used to defray the tax commissioner's cost in administering

the tax owed under section 5727.81 of the Revised Code by self-assessing purchasers.  After the application is approved by the tax commissioner, the registration shall

remain in effect for the current registration year, or until canceled by the registrant

upon written notification to the commissioner of the election to pay the tax in accordance

with division (A) of this section, or until canceled by the tax commissioner for not

paying the tax or fee under division (C) of this section or for not meeting the qualifications

in division (C)(2) of this section.  The tax commissioner shall give written notice to the electric distribution company

from which electricity is delivered to a self-assessing purchaser of the purchaser's

self-assessing status, and the electric distribution company is relieved of the obligation

to pay the tax imposed by division (A) of this section for electricity distributed

to that self-assessing purchaser until it is notified by the tax commissioner that

the self-assessing purchaser's registration is canceled.  Within fifteen days of notification of the canceled registration, the electric distribution

company shall be responsible for payment of the tax imposed by division (A) of this

section on electricity distributed to a purchaser that is no longer registered as

a self-assessing purchaser.  A self-assessing purchaser with a canceled registration must file a report and remit

the tax imposed by division (A) of this section on all electricity it receives for

any measurement period prior to the tax being reported and paid by the electric distribution

company.  A self-assessing purchaser whose registration is canceled by the tax commissioner

is not eligible to register as a self-assessing purchaser for two years after the

registration is canceled. (7) If the tax commissioner cancels the self-assessing registration of a purchaser registered

on the basis of its estimated consumption because the purchaser does not consume at

least forty-five million kilowatt hours of electricity over the course of the twelve-month

period for which the estimate was made, the tax commissioner shall assess and collect

from the purchaser the difference between (a) the amount of tax that would have been

payable under division (A) of this section on the electricity distributed to the purchaser

during that period and (b) the amount of tax paid by the purchaser on such electricity

pursuant to division (C)(2) of this section.  The assessment shall be paid within sixty days after the tax commissioner issues

it, regardless of whether the purchaser files a petition for reassessment under section 5727.89 of the Revised Code covering that period.  If the purchaser does not pay the assessment within the time prescribed, the amount

assessed is subject to the additional charge and the interest prescribed by divisions (B) and (C) of section 5727.82 of the Revised Code , and is subject to assessment under section 5727.89 of the Revised Code .  If the purchaser is a qualified end user, division (C)(7) of this section applies

only to electricity it consumes in other than its qualifying manufacturing process. (D) The tax imposed by this section does not apply to: (1) The distribution or obtaining of any kilowatt hours of electricity to or by any of

the following: (a) The federal government; (b) An end user located at a federal facility that uses electricity for the enrichment

of uranium; (c) A qualified regeneration meter; (d) An end user for any day the end user is a qualified end user; (e) An end user if the electricity is generated by an electric generation facility that

is primarily dedicated to providing electricity to the electric-consuming facilities

of the end user, that is sized so as to not exceed one hundred per cent of the customer-generator's

annual requirements for electric energy at the time of interconnection, that is physically

interconnected and integrated with the electric-consuming facilities of the end user,

and that is located on the same property on which the end user's electric-consuming

facilities are situated or on property that is contiguous to the property on which

the end user's electric-consuming facilities are situated. (2) Kilowatt hours of electricity generated by a self-generator if the electric generating

facility is sized so as not to exceed one hundred per cent of the customer-generator's

annual requirements for electric energy at the time of interconnection. The exemption under division (D)(1)(d) of this section for a qualified end user only

applies to the manufacturing location where the qualified end user uses electricity

in a chlor-alkali manufacturing process or where the qualified end user uses more

than three million kilowatt hours per day in an electrochemical manufacturing process.  As used in division (D) of this section, “customer-generator” and “self-generator”

have the same meanings as in section 4928.01 of the Revised Code . (E) All revenue arising from the tax imposed by this section shall be credited to the

general revenue fund except as provided by division (C) of this section and section 5727.82 of the Revised Code .