The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio announced on Wednesday that it is ordering electric provider FirstEnergy to pay $250.7 million for violating Ohio law, PUCO regulations and PUCO orders. 

The fines and restitution come from the passage of Amended Substitute House Bill 6 during the 133rd General Assembly in 2019 and 2020.

The fines come from the PUCO investigation in response to the criminal investigation brought by the U.S. Department of Justice after Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for his role in which FirstEnergy paid $61 million in bribes for a ratepayer bailout by consumers for their nuclear power plants in Ohio.

Former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and Vice President Michael Dowling were indicted in January on federal racketeering conspiracy charges for their alleged roles in a bribery scheme tied to the Ohio H.B. 6 scandal. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
 
 

"The Commission has remained steadfast in ensuring that we have followed the facts wherever they may lead," stated PUCO Chair Jenifer French. "Our hope is the events underlying these proceedings will remain a cautionary lesson of accountability and honesty in utility regulatory matters."

The Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council has been one of many organizations calling for an investigation into First Energy for years. 

"They damaged public trust and they challenged the integrity of our energy system…it is a long overdue victory for Ohio's energy consumers," Chuck Keiper, the Executive Director and CEO of NOPEC said. 

The Ohio Consumers Counsel is also taking the order as a victory. 

"Ohioans expect and deserve fair utility bills and utility companies that follow the law.  Todays PUCO order requiring fines, restitution and refunds is an important milestone in fixing the harms FirstEnergy caused,” Maureen Willis, Agency Director of the Office of the Ohio Consumers Counsel said. "For five years, the Office of the Consumers Counsel and others pressed for accountability and relief on behalf of consumers. Today's PUCO ruling reflects that Ohioans should never be made to pay for corporate misconduct

The Commission found that the utilities "failed to demonstrate they adhered to a 2016 Commission order" authorizing it to collect a "distribution modernization rider" for the sole purposes of supporting the utilities' efforts to modernize their distribution grids. The Commission further found that the utilities used customer funds collected from 2017 to 2019 to subsidize their unregulated generation affiliate, in violation of Ohio law.

FirstEnergy was ordered to return $179.99 million to customers over three billing cycles. 

The utilities will refund an additional $6.64 million plus interest for certain transactions that the company billed to its customers but lacked supporting documentation or were misallocated to customers, as identified by a 2021 PUCO audit.

The exact amounts that customers will get will be decided next week when utilities file restitution calculations with the PUCO by Nov. 26. The payouts are expected to start the following billing cycle.

The Commission also found that FirstEnergy violated Ohio's corporate separation laws by entering into a consulting agreement with Sustainability Funding Alliance in 2013. The Commission ordered the utility to pay a civil forfeiture of $21.78 million.

"I hope the message from these kinds of situations would be treat people fairly be transparent, be honest and open that's the kind of system that all Ohioan's deserve,” Keiper said. 

The bailout money was set to be taken out of household bills until 2030 but a PUCO spokesperson said current bills no longer have charges connected to HB6. 

The PUCO does have one audit still pending looking into first energy related to the scandal that has a hearing scheduled for 2026.