Bypassing the state legislature, an Ohio judge on Monday blocked collection of House Bill 6 nuclear bailout fees, which are slated to hit ratepayer bills next month.
During December’s emergency legislative session, state lawmakers failed to come to an agreement about what, if anything, to do about the $60-million nuclear bailout. In July, ex-Ohio House Speaker Rep. Larry Householder (R) was indicted as part of a far-reaching corruption scheme after he allegedly helped push HB 6 through in 2019 via a state ballot initiative.
HB6 bails out two of Ohio’s nuclear plants formerly owned by a FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary They’re now owned by the independent Energy Harbor, which was spun off as part of a bankruptcy reorganization. If the subsidies hadn’t been blocked via preliminary injunction last week by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Chris Brown, they would have cost residential customers $0.85 and industrial plants up to $2,400 per month starting in January 2021.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (D) and the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati asked the court to block the rate increases.
Ohio legislators have drafted a number of bills that would either repeal or partly repeal HB6 but had not voted on any at deadline for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing.
At Householder’s criminal indictment, where he was charged with racketeering, prosecutors called HB6 the biggest corruption scheme in state history.
