The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on Tuesday unanimously agreed to block FirstEnergy Corp. from collecting a virtually guaranteed profit of at least $102 million each year, to which the corporation was entitled under a controversial nuclear power bailout law passed in 2019.
Approval came swiftly after the Ohio Attorney General’s office and FirstEnergy on Monday submitted an agreement to the commission to remove the guarantee, part of a so-called decoupling provision written into the controversial state law House Bill 6. The law is one of the focal points of a $60 million bribery scandal.
House Bill 6’s decoupling provision would have allowed FirstEnergy to boost its charges to customers in order to meet a $102 million profit margin, regardless of actual electrical consumption, Ohio Attorney General David Yost has said. The broad intention of decoupling is that when a corporation encourages energy efficiency among its customers, it won’t lose money when those same customers buy less electricity.
Yost recently sought an injunction in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court to block FirstEnergy from taking advantage of the House Bill 6 decoupling provision. Shortly afterward, Ohio State Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R) introduced a bill that would do essentially the same thing.
“Under its now removed prior leadership, FirstEnergy built a feeding trough that it thought would guarantee it record profits year after year, filled with unearned money out of Ohioans’ pockets. This agreement recognizes the corrupt influence used to guarantee a for-profit company above-market returns for years to come by operation of law,” Yost said in a Monday press release.
In a Tuesday email, FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young said: “Working to constructively resolve this matter in cooperation with the Ohio Attorney General and other parties is part of decisive actions the Board and management are taking to position FirstEnergy for the future and continue to deliver safe, reliable electric service to our customers. FirstEnergy’s leadership is committed to transparency and integrity in every aspect of its business.”
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved the parties’ joint agreement without any discussion. Yost, meanwhile, agreed to withdraw the injunction request from the common pleas court.
