Ohio utility regulators may probe FirstEnergy over $4M payment to former top official, other questionable costs Jeremy Pelzer and Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on Wednesday is set to consider expanding its audit of FirstEnergy Corp. to include reviewing questionable costs that include a $4 million payment to an entity state officials have said is tied to former Public Utilities of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo.
If approved by the commission, it could open the door to ratepayer refunds if state regulators find that money collected from customers to pay for infrastructure improvements was wrongfully used to pay the costs, which FirstEnergy officials say were “improperly classified,” “misallocated” to the company’s local affiliates or “lacked proper supporting documentation.”
CLEVELAND Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Monday that his office had reached an agreement with FirstEnergy Corp. to stop the collection of a guara
Feb 2, 2021
CLEVELAND Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Monday that his office had reached an agreement with FirstEnergy Corp. to stop the collection of a guaranteed profit subsidy included in a tainted energy bill that would have allowed the Akron-based company to collect $102 million from customers this year.
As part of the settlement, FirstEnergy filed a request with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on Monday to say it will forgo collection of what is known as the conservation support rider or decoupling charge.
Included in a $1 billion nuclear bailout bill that is now the focus of multiple federal and state investigations, the provision would have allowed the company a guaranteed annual profit of $978 million a year, which it earned in 2018 during a year of weather extremes in the state.
FirstEnergy agrees not to seek subsidy in agreement with AG
By MARK GILLISPIEFebruary 1, 2021 GMT
FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2020 file photo, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost speaks in Columbus, Ohio. Yost announced on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, that Ohio s largest electric utility has agreed in a settlement to forgo the collection of a guaranteed profit subsidy provided in a now-tainted energy bill. Yost says the subsidy would have allowed Akron-based FirstEnergy to collect $102 million from customers in 2021. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2020 file photo, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost speaks in Columbus, Ohio. Yost announced on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, that Ohio s largest electric utility has agreed in a settlement to forgo the collection of a guaranteed profit subsidy provided in a now-tainted energy bill. Yost says the subsidy would have allowed Akron-based FirstEnergy to collect $102 million from customers in 2021. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth, File)