utility
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 […]
He needed supplemental oxygen. FirstEnergy cut off his electricity
Months after the state government granted hundreds of millions in subsidies to FirstEnergy Corp., the company disconnected the electric service of an Ohio man relying on supplemental oxygen. The customer, David, called the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and told an intake representative that after he got home from a doctor’s appointment he discovered his […]
Utility regulators block watchdog’s requests for info about a buried audit of a $460 million fund
An administrative judge blocked a watchdog’s attempt to obtain an audit that the Ohio utility regulatory agency’s former chairman, who has been accused of taking a $4.3 million bribe, allegedly tried to squash before publication. The ruling, released Friday evening, is a setback for the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, a state funded agency representing residential ratepayers […]
DeWine re-appoints former utility lawyer as utility regulator
Gov. Mike DeWine named attorney and incumbent utility regulator Dan Conway to renew his five-year term on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The selection of Conway from a shortlist curated by the PUCO’s nominating council undercuts DeWine’s pledge in January that he wouldn’t name appoint anyone to serve as regulator with ties to the […]
FirstEnergy collected $460 million from customers; auditor unsure if it was spent on bribes
There’s no clear evidence to show the $460 million FirstEnergy Corp. charged its customers went to its stated purpose of modernizing the electric grid, a state-commissioned audit found. After three years of FirstEnergy collecting hundreds of millions via the “Distribution Modernization Rider,” a 2019 Ohio Supreme Court ruling blocked the company from continuing to apply […]
Dayton utility asks regulators to make electric shutoffs easier
A Dayton area utility company has asked state regulators to relax the rules around shutting off power to customers who are behind on their electric bills. State regulations require utility companies, after filing written notices with customers who owe them money, to send an employee to make a final house call before cutting their power. […]
FirstEnergy to pay $306 million in refunds in legal settlement
FirstEnergy Corp. has agreed to refund $306 million to customers after the Supreme Court ruled the utility improperly excluded millions in charges from a calculation of whether its profits were “significantly excessive.” The refund traces back to what FirstEnergy called a “distribution modernization rider” (DMR) — about $458 million collected from customers over about 2.5 […]
House lawmakers review coal bailouts, energy efficiency proposal
Major pieces of scandal-tainted legislation remain on the books in Ohio, and House lawmakers indicate they plan to keep it that way. The Ohio House Public Utilities Committee on Wednesday reviewed two pieces of legislation aimed at different remnants of House Bill 6 from 2019. HB 6 is now mired in a bribery scandal that […]
Energy efficiency bill gets bipartisan push
An Ohio House committee began its work Wednesday on legislation designed to incentivize utility companies to boost the energy efficiency of their customers’ homes. House Bill 389, a bipartisan effort backed by several large Ohio utilities and environmental advocates alike, would restore some components of Ohio’s energy efficiency law, which was gutted by 2019 legislation […]
Energy is a basic need, and many Americans are struggling to afford it in the COVID-19 recession
Several months into the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, lower-income families are struggling to pay their energy bills. That’s a big concern during extreme events like summer heat waves, which can be deadly – especially for elderly people, young children, people of color and the poor. We ran a nationally representative survey in May 2020 of U.S. […]