firstenergy
Ohio Democrats focusing HB 6 scandal attention on Gov. DeWine
In the year after the House Bill 6 scandal first broke in July 2020, much of the focus was on state Rep. Larry Householder. Householder has since been booted from the legislature and awaits trial. Attention is shifting further toward Gov. Mike DeWine as the investigation continues to develop. The governor has not been accused […]
FirstEnergy said it bribed a regulator for $4.3 million. Here’s how it worked.
FirstEnergy admitted in court documents last week it paid the state’s top utility regulator $4.3 million to use his perch to save the company hundreds of millions via friendly administrative rulings. The company’s allegation against Sam Randazzo, former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, came in a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. […]
DeWine reaffirms support for aides, despite their roles in scandal-tainted legislation
One staffer waited weeks — and until after an FBI raid — to inform Gov. Mike DeWine that FirstEnergy had paid Sam Randazzo a massive sum just weeks before DeWine nominated Randazzo to be Ohio’s top utility regulator. Another staffer, while still a FirstEnergy lobbyist, founded a dark-money group that would funnel tens of millions […]
Gov. DeWine doesn’t seem interested in holding staff and allies accountable in bribery scandal
Nothing to see here. Remain calm. All is well. No big deal. Everybody knew. That appears to be Gov. Mike DeWine’s reaction to the public finding out he appointed a FirstEnergy consultant to regulate utilities in Ohio the company now admits paying $4.3 million to do their bidding. As the fallout from the $61 million […]
Householder alleged to have promoted FirstEnergy interests during Trump roundtable
Facing serious financial trouble and pushing for a federal bailout, the FirstEnergy Corporation saw opportunity in August 2018 when President Donald Trump announced a trip to Ohio. The Akron-based company wanted someone to make the case to Trump in person, so it turned to a reliable political ally: Larry Householder. The Perry County Republican’s alleged […]
Bar machine operators gave $100k to nonprofit that pleaded guilty in statehouse bribery case
A trade association connected to bar machine operators paid $100,000 to a political nonprofit that pleaded guilty to its role in an alleged bribery operation engineered by the former Speaker of the Ohio House, tax records show. The 2019 payment came from the Fair Gaming Coalition of Ohio (FGCO), which has deep ties to the […]
House leadership weighs political fate of their indicted colleague
Nearly a year since state Rep. Larry Householder was arrested on public corruption charges, four rank-and-file lawmakers argued their case to Ohio House leadership Thursday that it’s the House’s duty to purge Householder from the chamber he once controlled. The lawmakers — two Republicans and two Democrats — introduced separate but similar resolutions last month […]
State Senate mulls repeal of $700m bailout to coal plants in Ohio, Indiana
An Ohio Senate committee is considering the repeal of an estimated $700 million ratepayer-funded bailout extended to two coal-fired power plants in legislation now at the center of a criminal prosecution. Senate Bill 117, which received its second hearing Wednesday, would not only end the subsidies of Ohio Valley Electric Corporation power plants, but refund […]
Three Ohio energy giants haven’t paid federal income taxes in three years
They're making billions and they've gotten hefty subsidies from ratepayers. Yet three big energy companies doing business in Ohio haven't paid federal income tax since the 2017 Trump tax cuts, according to a new report.
After financing xenophobic campaign, FirstEnergy deplores anti-Asian bigotry
There has been a terrifying surge in violence against Asians over the past year, prompting one Ohio company to take a stand on an issue it was arguably on the other side of in 2019. Meanwhile, Ohio’s lieutenant governor is digging in over comments he made last week. There has been a drumbeat of random […]
Nursing home assn. gave $135k to dark money group tied to Householder bribery case
An entity representing Ohio’s nursing home industry contributed at least $135,000 to a political dark money group that has pleaded guilty to its role in an alleged racketeering scheme involving former House Speaker Larry Householder. The nonprofit 501(c)(4) entity, 55 Green Meadows, is affiliated with the Ohio Health Care Association — both groups share an […]
Critics take aim at HB 6 coal subsidies
A 2019 energy bill at the heart of a historic Ohio scandal has plenty of critics and it contains plenty of provisions of which they’re critical. There’s more than $1 billion to prop up two nuclear reactors that supposedly can’t compete on their own. And there’s $102 million in annual revenue guarantees for FirstEnergy, a […]