FirstEnergy to pay $306 million in refunds in legal settlement
BY: Jake Zuckerman - November 3, 2021
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 […]
State regulators made 'utility-friendly' edits to audit of coal plant bailout, emails show
BY: Jake Zuckerman - October 4, 2021
Documents show state utility regulators sought edits to draft versions of an audit they commissioned, prompting the removal of declarations that a ratepayer-funded bailout of two uneconomic coal plants was a bad deal for Ohio electric customers. Staff at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which sets customers' water and electric rates, asked an auditor […]
FirstEnergy said it bribed a regulator for $4.3 million. Here's how it worked.
BY: Jake Zuckerman - July 29, 2021
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 says he didn't know about alleged $4.3m bribe of utility regulator he appointed
Gov. Mike DeWine distanced himself Monday from a utility regulator he appointed who was accused last week of accepting millions in bribes from FirstEnergy Corp. FirstEnergy said in a court filing last week that it paid Sam Randazzo $22 million in consulting fees in the decade leading up to his appointment as chairman of the […]
FirstEnergy paid $4.3 mil to top energy regulator and reaped the benefits, court docs state
An energy lobbyist who Gov. Mike DeWine appointed as the state's top regulator of public utilities received $22 million from FirstEnergy Corp. in the decade before his appointment — including $4.3 million paid just before assuming the post and specifically to execute official duties to benefit the Akron-based utility — court documents revealed Thursday. Sam […]