puco
Judge slams former Ohio regulator for not giving details about how he spent $4.3M in utility money
FirstEnergy conceded it was a bribe, but its former executives and former PUCO Chairman Sam Randazzo said it wasn't. Either way, a judge in a federal class-action case is again ordering Randazzo to fork over documents — including emails — addressing how he spent the $4.3 million he got from FirstEnergy in 2019 just as he was about to take the helm of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the agency tasked with regulating FirstEnergy.
What can Ohio regulators do to prevent future utility corruption scandals?
This article is provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join the free mailing lists for Eye on Ohio or the Energy News Network, as this helps provide more public service reporting. Regulators taking proactive steps could reduce the risk of […]
Environmental groups call on regulator to audit coal subsidies in corrupt utility bailout
Correction: The Public Utilities Commission responded to a question for this story on Wednesday. It has been updated. Ohio’s utility regulator played a central role in a historic bribery and money laundering scandal. Now environmental groups are calling on it to perform legally mandated audits of hundreds of millions in coal subsidies that were part […]
Ohio energy policy: Incoherent, asymmetrical, and special interest driven
The lack of coherent state energy policy and asymmetrical alignment of risks and rewards left a vacuum that made Ohio fertile ground for the HB6 bailout and bribery scandal. The national debate over energy policy in recent years has revolved around two quite different, although not irreconcilable policy objectives: transitioning the energy sector into a […]
PUCO: A case study in regulatory passivity and failure in the face of crisis
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has had to deal with two very consequential crises within the scope of its jurisdiction, the House Bill 6 Scandal in electricity, and the Norfolk Southern derailments, particularly the one in East Palestine in transportation. In both cases, the commission posture has been one of passivity and minimal intervention. […]
What the guilty verdicts in Ohio’s corruption case mean for energy policy and good government
This article is provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join the free mailing lists for Eye on Ohio or the Energy News Network, as this helps provide more public service reporting. Jurors in Ohio’s House Bill 6 criminal corruption case […]
Analysis: Where are Ohio’s guardrails against corruption?
This is the first of three analysis pieces from former PUCO Commissioner Ashley C. Brown analyzing the failures and deficiencies in Ohio’s utility regulation and anti-corruption guardrails. Perhaps the most notable — but least commented on — aspect of the House Bill 6 bribery scandal is the almost complete absence of any meaningful state guardrails […]
Governor can put Ohioans first with the right PUCO pick
Gov. Mike DeWine will soon have the opportunity to significantly impact how Ohio regulates utilities — and in doing so, help control the rising costs facing Ohioans and Ohio businesses. This opportunity comes as the result of an upcoming retirement of a longtime member of the Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO) — the five-member […]
PUCO report criticizes AEP communication, tree trimming after summer outages
The Public Utility Commission of Ohio has issued a report on a series of power outages last summer. Those outages stemmed from a massive windstorm known as a derecho followed by a heat wave with 90+ degree temperatures. Outages occurred throughout the state, but fell heaviest on communities in Columbus, many of them poor. The […]
Householder trial set to begin next month
This story providing updates on Ohio’s ongoing utility corruption scandal is a joint project of Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, and the nonprofit Energy News Network. Parties are in the home stretch of trial preparation in the federal government’s criminal case against former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others. The […]
Eye on Utilities: Will HB 6 impact the 2022 election?
This update on Ohio’s ongoing utility corruption scandal and is a joint project of Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, and the nonprofit Energy News Network. It was originally published by Energy News Network. Concerns about corruption factor into multiple races as early voting is underway in Ohio. Other developments in the […]
As Ohio regulators sit on coal plant subsidy cases, costs could rack up for ratepayers
Although Ohio regulators have paused four FirstEnergy cases dealing with House Bill 6, they could still take action in cases dealing with the two 1950s-era coal plants that were subsidized by the law at the heart of Ohio’s ongoing corruption scandal. Yet the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has made no rulings in those cases […]