utilities
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 […]
The utility bailout House Bill 6 made both Ohio’s air and politics dirty
With all the drama surrounding the Householder trial for racketeering, it can be easy to forget the bill behind the former Ohio Speaker of the House’s alleged $60 million payoff from First Energy power company. House Bill 6 had four major impacts. It required power consumers to bail out two massive nuclear power plants in […]
‘Why is it still going up?’ — Utility costs increasing, Ohio consumers looking for answers
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. Many Ohioans are seeing utility bill increases despite using less energy, prompting questions […]
‘It would be bad for both of us if the story came out’
This monthly newsletter provides updates 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 would be bad for both of us if the story came out. But it would be worse for you,” lobbyist Matt Borges told […]
Affordable, reliable and sustainable: report compares utility performance
A nationwide comparison of electric utility performance by an Illinois consumer advocacy group found that customers in states that are heavily reliant on fuel oil and natural gas, as in the Northeast and South, tend to pay more than those with larger amounts of carbon-free generation, among other findings. The report by the Illinois-based Citizens […]
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 […]
For offshore wind aspirations to become reality, transmission hurdles must be cleared
President Joe Biden’s administration laid out ambitious additional goals last month to boost offshore wind power generation, one of the American renewable energy industry’s emerging wide open frontiers. The federal announcements come as coastal states across the country are increasingly setting offshore wind energy targets, seeking to capture not just clean energy but the potentially big economic […]
Judge orders unfreezing of assets of regulator accused of taking bribe
An appellate judge ordered Wednesday that the government must unfreeze the millions of dollars in bank accounts of Sam Randazzo, a former state utility regulator who was implicated in a public corruption scandal. Last summer, a civil suit led by Attorney General Dave Yost won a judgement freezing up to $8 million from several accounts […]
Utility regulator accused of taking a bribe helped write bill targeting watchdog
Ohio’s former top utility regulator, who was accused of taking a $4.3 million bribe, quietly spent months helping write a sweeping energy bill that targeted a state watchdog agency that advocates for Ohio’s residential electric customers, records show. Emails that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio gave in response to two FBI subpoenas show its […]
Ohio Bribery Scandal Hits Home in Md. — and Utility Customers May Be Footing the Bill
Two summers ago, the powerful speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives and four of his political associates were arrested in a high-profile bribery scandal. The aftershocks are still being felt in Maryland. It’s a scandal of breathtaking proportions and has had far-reaching consequences in Ohio and beyond. Larry Householder (R), then the House speaker, […]
Ohio judge withdraws from probes into nuclear bailout he helped write
A state judge who oversees utility cases withdrew himself Friday from four cases involving legislation now at the center of a criminal public corruption investigation. Greg Price, an attorney examiner with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and chief of the electric and energy section, stepped back from investigations into FirstEnergy Corp. He cited the […]
Finalists selected for Ohio utility regulator perch, all with deep energy and utility ties
A nominating council sent a list of four candidates to Gov. Mike DeWine to appoint as a member of the board that regulates Ohio’s public utilities. All four have deep ties to the natural gas and or utility industries, according to a review of their cover letters, resumes, and court records. The nominee would fill […]