Tagged In: firstenergy, HB 6, Ohio Attorney General, PUCO
Marisa Twigg, Creative and Communications Director, February 12, 2024
Neither the Ohio Attorney General’s nor the Ohio Inspector General’s offices have responded to our joint request with environmental and consumer organizations.
For Immediate Release:
February 12, 2024
Contact:
Marisa Twigg
mtwigg@theoec.org or 614-487-5837
COLUMBUS — Today’s indictments of former chair Samuel Randazzo, Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling underscore our previous call for a comprehensive investigation into the extent to which Randazzo improperly influenced Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) actions during his tenure. Neither the Ohio Attorney General’s nor the Ohio Inspector General’s offices have responded to our joint request with environmental and consumer organizations.
The PUCO is the primary accountability agency for Ohio’s utilities, including overseeing an audit of the House Bill 6-bailed out coal plants. Though the indictments are an important step towards accountability, Ohioans deserve to know the full scope of FirstEnergy’s and Randazzo’s roles in the HB 6 corruption scandal and their influence over the PUCO.
The following quote can be attributed, in whole or in part, to Nolan Rutschilling, Managing Director of Energy Policy for the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC):
“We need a full, public investigation into Samuel Randazzo’s time as Chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Ohioans are paying for coal plant bailouts, rather than an efficient, clean electric grid. FirstEnergy and former PUCO Chair Randazzo worked together to pick Ohioans’ pockets by gutting our energy efficiency programs, eliminating our renewable energy standard and putting all of us on the hook to bail out two outdated coal plants.
“The indictments of Dowling and Jones are particularly notable in light of recent reliability hearings. Just this month, Ohio legislators debated allowing investor-owned utilities to own more generation under the guise of “reliability.” How can we justify giving our utilities more control over our energy system?
“Until we understand and rectify the full extent of utility bribery and corruption into Ohio’s energy system, Ohioans will continue to suffer the consequences.”
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BACKGROUND:
The Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) is the state’s most comprehensive and effective environmental advocate for a healthier, more sustainable Ohio. The OEC develops and ensures the implementation of forward-thinking, science-based, pragmatic solutions to secure healthy air, land, and water for all who call Ohio home.