Latest news with #H.B.6
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FirstEnergy continues effort to raise prices as Ohio repeals scandal-ridden bill
Smart energy meter. (Stock photo via Getty Images) While energy prices are set to jump this summer, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law that could provide some relief — eliminating a subsidy from the scandal-ridden Ohio House Bill 6 that requires ratepayers to fund unprofitable coal plants. As this happens, utility companies are moving to increase consumers' bills. Back in 2019, Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder took and funneled $61 million worth of bribes in exchange for legislation to give utility company FirstEnergy a $1 billion bailout, named H.B. 6, all at ratepayers' expense. In March 2023, a jury found that Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges, beyond a reasonable doubt, participated in the racketeering scheme that left four men guilty and two dead. In late June that year, federal judge Timothy Black sentenced Householder to 20 years in prison. Borges got five years for his role in the scheme, but most importantly, he attempted to bribe Tyler Fehrman, an FBI whistleblower, with $15,000 to help kill a repeal effort he was working on. On video, Borges told Fehrman that if he told anyone about the bribe, he would 'blow up' his house. While some of H.B. 6 was overturned already, ratepayers have been paying a subsidy that funds two Ohio Valley Electric Corporation coal plants — one in Southern Ohio and one in Indiana. The main beneficiaries for OVEC are American Electric Power Company (AEP), Duke Energy and AES Ohio. Still, FirstEnergy collects payment for it. But with the swipe of a pen — consumers will likely see their bills go down. DeWine signed a massive energy overhaul bill, H.B. 15, on Friday. It repeals the OVEC charges. A study commissioned by the Ohio Manufacturers' Association found that in 2024 alone, these subsidies cost ratepayers roughly $200 million. The company lost more than $100 million the same year, so consumers are paying for plants that aren't profitable. Consumers can expect to save between $1.30 and $1.50 per month, depending on their utility provider, according to the Energy News Network. The subsidies may not seem like a lot every month, but they add up when inflation is high and people struggle. 'It makes a difference, especially in today's day and age with a kind of shaky economy and folks trying to just make ends meet,' Fehrman said. While this will save citizens a bit of money, Householder attorney Scott Pullins argues that this will hurt the rural areas it serves. 'They are major high-paying jobs in the area, and the kind of area where there aren't very many high-paying jobs,' Pullins said about the plant jobs. 'They generate a whole boatload of taxes for schools in those areas. And if those plants get shut down, it's going to be devastating for those communities.' The Ohio plant employs many Ohioans, he added. But now, this may embolden utility companies to ask for more rate hikes, he said. This is already happening. 'Our electric grid needs to be modernized,' Pullins said. 'I'm assuming that those are where those costs are going. I think we do need a robust regulatory scheme to make sure these companies aren't wasting these funds.' FirstEnergy is now petitioning the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to raise its prices — a $190 million increase in its charges. If approved, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel estimated that Cleveland Illuminating Company consumers will see a $13 price increase per month, Ohio Edison will have a $3 spike, and Toledo Edison at $1.50. On Monday, DeWine said he doesn't have an opinion on the price increases. 'As far as the raising of bills, ultimately, as you know, this is up to the PUCO,' he said. Fehrman said this shouldn't be allowed. 'There is this massive scandal where these companies tried to put a larger burden on the backs of every single Ohioan,' he said. 'And now, they're asking for more money in a time when folks are already struggling.' The bill will go into effect in 90 days. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal appeals court upholds conviction of Householder in public corruption case
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder (Photo by: WEWS/WCPO.) A panel of federal court judges has upheld the convictions of former House Speaker Larry Householder and former Republican leader Matt Borges for their roles in the largest public corruption scheme in state history. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the jury was correct in finding Householder guilty of racketeering and accepting a $61 million bribe in exchange for legislation to give utility company FirstEnergy a $1 billion bailout, named H.B. 6, at the expense of taxpayers. The court also found that the jury was justified in finding Borges guilty in his role in the scandal, including attempting to bribe an FBI informant with $15,000 before threatening to blow his house up. 'Because each defendant's arguments fail, we uphold their convictions,' the court wrote. In March 2023, a jury found that Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges, beyond a reasonable doubt, participated in the racketeering scheme that left four men guilty, with another dead by suicide. In late June of that year, federal Judge Timothy Black sentenced Householder to 20 years in prison. Borges got five years. The two surviving defendants — Jeff Longstreth and Juan Cespedes — took plea agreements early on in exchange for helping the FBI, and are still awaiting their sentencing. The feds are asking for a maximum of six months for them. At the end of 2023, the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, Sam Randazzo, pleaded not guilty after being charged with a dozen crimes related to bribery and embezzlement after he allegedly received more than $4.3 million from FirstEnergy. The utility company has already admitted to bribery. In April 2024, Randazzo became the second defendant accused in the scandal to die by suicide. Neil Clark, a lobbyist who was accused of bribery, killed himself after pleading not guilty in 2021. Householder's attorney Scott Pullins, sent WEWS/OCJ the following statement: 'Today is a sad and disappointing day for Mr. Householder, Mr. Borges, and their families and supporters. But it is even a sadder day for constitutional free speech and the rule of law. Mr. Householder, like former Ohio Speakers Cliff Rosenberger and Ryan Smith, and current Speaker Matt Huffman, raised undisclosed, unlimited donations for a 501c4 organization that supported him and his political allies. But the federal government singled only Mr. Householder out for prosecution. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In the H.B. 6 matter, Mr. Householder led one House in the legislative branch of state government. To pass H.B. 6, it required the support of former Senate President Larry Obhof and his chamber, along with the support of Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted. All received undisclosed, corporate donations from First Energy and worked closely with them to pass H.B. 6. But the federal government singled only Mr. Householder out for prosecution. After reading the P.G. Sittenfeld case, and now this decision, it has become clear that the Sixth Circuit believes that the Supreme Court must act to clarify the law more clearly around political donations and bribery. We hope and fervently pray that they will do so. Free speech must apply equally to all and cannot be left to the whims and egos of individual U.S. attorneys.' The decision — Householder Going through each of Householder's arguments, the appellate judges swiftly dismissed the claims. 'The evidence showed that Householder agreed to commit —and did commit — extortion and honest services fraud …' the decision states. 'The jurors also heard no shortage of evidence that the conspirators knew that they were doing wrong.' The court lambasted Householder for arguing he didn't commit a crime. 'What's more, Householder tried to conceal his tracks along the way. It began with the web of secret 501(c)(4) entities. He tried to cajole another representative into deleting text messages about House Bill 6. He deleted his call logs with Yost during the referendum saga,' And he gave 'unequivocally false' testimony, according to the district court, the appellate judges said. 'In sum, Householder committed multiple RICO predicates when he solicited and received payments from FirstEnergy in exchange for specific official action,' the court decision stated. What about when it comes to the former speaker's point of view? 'Householder offers a slate of arguments to the contrary,' the appeals court wrote. 'They fail.' The appellate judges detailed how the former speaker did, indeed, commit crimes, and the jury was well aware of all the dinners he went to, money he accepted, and scare tactics he used to try to keep people quiet. Householder, in his appeal, said it wasn't fair that audio recordings of him were played in court because they were 'irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial.' In a recording obtained by WEWS/OCJ, Householder threatened state Reps. Dave Greenspan and Scott Lipps, who didn't support him, saying: 'If you're going to f— with me, I'm going to f— with your kids.' This deeply disturbed jury foreman Jarrod Haines, who did an exclusive interview following the trial. Due to the fact that the defense did not object to these recordings being played during the trial, and because they clearly meet the standard of admittance, the appellate judges wrote that 'Householder's unpalatable language aligned with lots of evidence that the jury received of Householder and his co-conspirators' foul language. These recordings wouldn't have unduly prejudiced him.' It was clear during the trial that Householder's attorneys were going to use judicial bias in the appeals process. U.S. District Judge Timothy Black, a Democrat nominated by former President Barack Obama in 2009, has been in the legal profession for more than four decades. He got his first spot on the bench in 1994, joining the Hamilton County Municipal Court. During his ten-year tenure on the trial court, he decided to run for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court in 2000. This campaign was brought up 22 or so years later by Householder's attorney Mark Marein before the jury entered the room during the trial. The Cleveland-based lawyer argued that the judge doesn't like them. 'We all collectively believe that the court holds animosity toward us,' Marein said. 'I question whether (Black) should be presiding over this.' Black said he clearly didn't have bias. Householder said this wasn't true, adding that he received the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The appellate court agreed with Black. It also wasn't fair that the court found Householder to have committed perjury, Householder's attorneys said. The decision — Borges The court found that Borges was aware of the crimes he committed. 'There is ample evidence that Borges knew and agreed to facilitate the illegal activity involved in the Householder enterprise,' the appellate judges wrote. Jury foreman Haines said he kept an open mind the entire trial, but the overwhelming amount of evidence was undeniable, he said. Borges was easier for the jury to decide on, according to Haines. Whistleblower Tyler Fehrman testified that Borges tried to bribe him, and the FBI had the video. 'It was just kind of an 'a-ha' moment,' Haines said of Fehrman's testimony. 'It was key for him to take the stand, for sure.' This included a jarring quote from Borges telling the whistleblower that if he told anyone about the bribe, he would 'blow up' his house. Borges was part of the scheme due to his role in the referendum effort to repeal H.B. 6. The beneficiaries of H.B. 6 knew that citizens wanted it gone, since they didn't want to increase their bills for a failing company, details of the trial laid out. Borges, as proved in court, tried to bribe Fehrman to give details on the repeal effort. Borges argued that testimony by several witnesses was prejudicial against him. 'Borges, for his part, argues that the evidence was unduly prejudicial because it conveyed 'gangster-style conduct that the average juror would associate with racketeering,'' the appellate court wrote. 'But such conclusory labels don't help his case.' Moving forward The judges encouraged the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit several cases that could help Householder's appeal — arguing that separate public corruption cases could cast doubt on the convictions due to differing legality, semantics and scope of what corruption is. Meanwhile, Householder is attempting to get clemency, his attorney Scott Pullins told WEWS/OCJ after the November election. 'The justice system can be turned as a weapon against people for political purposes,' the lawyer said. Householder's team believes that the FBI was politically motivated in arresting the former speaker. This argument could appeal to the president, Case Western Reserve University criminal law professor Mike Benza said. 'One of the things that we know that President-elect (Donald) Trump is interested in is what he sees as political forces working in the Department of Justice, especially targeting Republicans,' Benza said. Householder knows Trump well and spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention. They kept in touch throughout the years, Pullins said. Paula Christian from WCPO contributed to this story. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook. This article was originally published on and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio lawmakers send energy overhaul to the governor
WINDHAM, NH - DECEMBER 14: An electrical worker surveys damaged power lines December 14, 2008 in Windham, New Hampshire. An ice storm on December 12 knocked out power to 1.4 million people in upstate New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine and President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in New Hampshire. (Photo by) Ohio state lawmakers approved an energy deal Wednesday in a pair of back-to-back floor votes. The sweeping legislation aims to encourage investment in new power generation by building a moat around the market and offering tax incentives to new entrants. Meanwhile the distribution utilities on the outside looking in will get similar tax breaks for new transmission infrastructure, as well as a ratemaking overhaul. For those so-called pole-and-wire companies, some changes are welcome. Others a bit less so. The legislation equips the ratemaking process with a statutory 'shot clock' to keep deliberations to about a year at most. Utilities will also get to set rates for three years at a time, so long as there's an annual 'true up' of charges and expenses. But a system they've relied on for years to avoid full rate cases is going away. So is the controversial coal plant subsidy approved as part of 2019's House Bill 6. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The legislation amounts to a substantial reworking of the state's energy marketplace, but at least in the near term, it's unlikely to address the concerns that drove a bipartisan coalition of backers to approve it. The 13-state energy grid operator PJM predicts energy demand will surpass its supply in the next few years. At the same time, it's struggling to get new power plants plugged into its system. Some leaders point to so-called behind-the-meter generation — small, purpose-built power plants for individual customers — as a potential short-term answer to the problem. Others suggest if the line with PJM is too long, maybe it's time to look for a different line. In the Senate, state Sen. Brian Chavez, R-Marietta, spoke in support of House Bill 15. Earlier this week, lawmakers tacked on several tweaks hammered out in negotiations with the House. 'In essence,' Chavez argued, 'it reduces the barriers to entry for power generation, it increases the flow of investments into the state, and it makes Ohio more competitive for industries, while stimulating job creation and economic development.' He also highlighted one important compromise. Instead of eliminating a tax on machinery and equipment, the final version reduced the tax from 25% to 7%. State Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, urged lawmakers to revisit provisions left out of the final bill. He argued Ohio should launch a pilot program for community solar, saying lessons can be learned 'in a small scale first, so we can help develop this across the state of Ohio.' But most important, Smith applauded the measure for finally turning the page on H.B. 6. 'House Bill 15 contains huge wins for consumers that have been scarred by the House Bill 6 scandal,' he said. 'But most importantly, it will keep money in the pockets of hardworking Ohioans as we end the legacy generation rider, which is costing Ohio ratepayers over $450,000 a day.' The Senate put the proposal to a vote quickly and approved it unanimously. Speaking after the vote, Senate President Rob McColley emphasized the importance of behind-the-meter generation. He argued the policy could be 'one of the most transformational' changes state lawmakers make in the energy sector. McColley said he's already hearing from companies that believe it will dramatically reduce the time it takes to get up and running. He added the policy could also offer a way for some power producers to sidestep the PJM backlog. 'Eventually some of these projects, once they're built behind-the-meter, will file an application at PJM to interconnect,' McColley said. 'They will not need permission to interconnect before they can build because they won't be interconnected yet, but the ultimate goal could be that they generate enough power to send it out onto the grid.' Across the rotunda, House sponsor state Rep. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, praised the legislation as a 'great step' toward making Ohio 'energy independent.' 'We know that PJM has issued significant warnings throughout the last few years,' he said, 'that we are heading towards an energy shortage crisis across the entire market — as soon as next year.' The House overwhelmingly approved the measure, by a vote of 94-2. Speaking afterward, House Speaker Matt Huffman echoed McColley's praise for behind-the-meter generation. He argued giving large power users an alternative will reduce their impact on the grid and give the system greater flexibility overall. 'What that does is make sure there's more reliable energy, and with fewer users on the grid, the cost goes down,' he said. 'So that's hopefully the immediate effect.' But far from suggesting the approach could help generators sidestep a long interconnection queue with PJM, Huffman floated the idea of sidestepping PJM altogether. 'Is PJM the right fit for the state of Ohio?' Huffman wondered. 'There's another choice, MISO, to the West, which includes Indiana and much of the Big 10 — or the old Big 10 when there was only 10 schools in it.' Huffman said he's already begun talking with people at MISO. The 15-state grid operator covers much of the Midwest, and stretches as far south as Mississippi and Louisiana and as far west as the Dakotas and part of Montana. The speaker complained about PJM agreeing to changes sought by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro that 'restrict the free market.' Shapiro sued PJM arguing the price cap at an upcoming auction was too high, and customers in his state could see bills increase $21 billion over the next two years. PJM settled, and federal regulators signed off on the agreement earlier this month. 'That gives me, personally, great pause,' Huffman said. 'Is that PJM board acting in the best interest of all of the members, including the state of Ohio? So, we need to ask that question that may help us some on the future issues.' Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
