The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Nominating Council is seeking a new chairman after its former leader resigned two weeks ago, when his home was raided by the FBI, according to a Monday press release.
The raid happened just days after FirstEnergy Corp., the energy utility at the center of one of the largest public corruption scandals in Ohio history, filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission expressing concern over a $4 million payment made in 2019 to an “individual who subsequently was appointed to a full-time role as an Ohio government official directly involved in regulating the Ohio companies.”
Former PUCO head Sam Randazzo said in his resignation letter to Gov. Mike DeWine that the impression left by the filing and subsequent FBI raid “will, right or wrong, fuel suspicions about and controversy over decisions I may render in my current capacity.”
The candidate would fill a vacancy for the term ending on April 10, 2024, according to the posting. The nominating council will meet later this month, on Dec. 21, to interview selected applicants and recommend finalists to Gov. Mike DeWine, who will have 30 days to choose a new commissioner or ask for a new list of candidates.
PUCO is responsible for regulating Ohio’s public utilities, including First Energy. Critics said the commission has gone too easy on the utility, which faces a number of federal investigations for its alleged involvement with former House Speaker Larry Householder’s scheme to pass House Bill 6 in the state legislature. The bill provided a bailout for financially nuclear power plants owned by a former First Energy subsidiary.
