FirstEnergy Doubles Down on Subsidy Demand

One week after its proposed “power purchase agreements” (PPAs) were halted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), FirstEnergy filed a new subsidy proposal to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO).  The company wants the PUCO to approve it by May 25 so that it can go into effect on June 1.

Essentially walking away from any pretense that its proposal is anything more than a costly bailout, the filing drops the PPAs and any connection to the wholesale markets.  Instead, the subsidies are based on the company’s own past projections of future costs, not actual costs set by the market.

Once again, customers potentially have more than $3 billion over eight years at risk.

Read a good summary of the proposal in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  We’ll have a full analysis for members in a few days.