PUCO Initiates FirstEnergy Audit

This week, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) initiated an audit of FirstEnergy’s compliance with corporate separation laws and regulations. The action by the PUCO comes after the agency has been petitioned and criticized for not investigating wrongdoing by the regulated monopoly utility company, FirstEnergy, referred to as “Company A” in the federal prosecution against Larry Householder for its role in HB 6.

In the wake of guilty pleas entered by two of the accused conspirators last week, FirstEnergy fired its CEO and other executives. FirstEnergy’s board said that the executives had violated company policies and its code of conduct. With that admission, the PUCO initiated the audit of FirstEnergy.

Meanwhile eyes are on the post-election or lame duck legislative session that will soon convene for a month or so. Late last week, Senate President Larry Obhof told the Columbus Dispatch (subscription) that the Senate will hold informal hearings on House Bill 772 (Romanchuk) to repeal HB 6. 11/5/2020