More fallout from the failed Ohio nuclear bailout legislation. FirstEnergy, the utility that lobbied furiously for House Bill 6 to keep uneconomic Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants operating at the expense of Ohio customers, says it won’t disgorge $30 million collected so far under the subsidy.
The legislation passed after Akron-based FirstEnergy allegedly used some $60 million to bribe and influence the passage of the legislation and defeat a referendum to overturn the law. When exposed in a federal investigation, the utility’s actions resulted in the downfall of the Republican speaker of the Ohio House, Larry Householder.
The Associated Press reported that the Ohio Consumers Council, the state’s consumer advocate agency, petitioned the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to order FirstEnergy to refund the money collected so far, arguing that a refund would “remedy what would be a miscarriage or perversion of justice.” FirstEnergy responded that there is no legal basis for the refund.
At the same time, the Ohio Senate unanimously approved legislation that guts the legislation that would yield more than a billion dollars to the utility over the next decade. HB 6 would give FirstEnergy some $150 million per year to subsidize the plants, which have been unable to win support in competitive capacity auctions in the PJM Interconnection, based on a $0.85 charge on monthly bills, and a $1.50 monthly charge to bills from the Ohio Valley Electric Corp. for two coal-fired plants in Ohio and Indiana.
In the wake of the federal probe, which also targeted former PUCO chairman Sam Randazzo, who may have received a $4 million bribe in the affair and resigned in November after the FBI searched his home, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine named Jenifer A. French, a former state judge, to head the PUCO.
DeWine said, “She has no history in the industry, which in this unique period of time is an asset.” He supports repeal of HB 6.
In what may be a related development, former prominent Ohio lobbyist Neil Clark, 67, who was targeted in the investigation of the Ohio bribery scandal, was found dead of a gunshot wound to his head in rural Collier county, Fla., where he was living. The AP reported that the cause of death had not been determined, but an autopsy was underway. According to the wire service account, his wife said they were encountering financial difficulties and she had not heard from him for several hours.
He had pleaded not guilty in the HB 6 scandal to federal prosecutors. The AP report said, “Federal prosecutors investigating what they dub ‘Team Householder’ described Clark as the former speaker’s enforcer, strong-arming supporters and providing fundraising expertise.”
Ohio TV station WBNS reported, “Householder, Clark and former GOP chairman Matt Borges have pleaded not guilty. Two other men charged – Juan Cespedes and Jeff Longstreth – have since entered guilty pleas.”
The AP reported that Clark had said “he was writing a tell-all book about his time at the Statehouse.”
–Kennedy Maize