FirstEnergy Solutions Successor Seeks to Buy Back $300M in Additional Shares

Leaders of Energy Harbor — formerly known as FirstEnergy Solutions — have moved to repurchase an additional $300 million of its own stock, according to a report this week at Cleveland.com. (The Statehouse News Bureau also covered the story.) This comes as Ohio electricity customers — including manufacturers — are about to subsidize the company to the tune of $150 million annually through surcharges imposed by House Bill 6, last year’s nuclear bailout law.

The article quotes Ned Hill, a professor at The Ohio State University, who said contrary to the company’s arguments that it was in financial trouble, the buyback shows Energy Harbor’s management is confident it will make money as it now rewards shareholders.

Nearly a year ago, as he delivered OMA opponent testimony on HB 6, former OMA Chairman David W. Johnson of Summitville Tiles urged Ohio lawmakers to require an annual, independent profitability analysis before the state doled out Ohioans’ moneys to the generation company that is now Energy Harbor. That, of course, didn’t happen. Join the discussion at the OMA Energy Committee meeting next week. 5/13/2020