PUCO, Supreme Court Act to Address HB 6 Concerns

Last week, regulators at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) announced a new audit of FirstEnergy. This was done in response to the criminal and civil cases tied to the state’s nuclear subsidy law (House Bill 6). The PUCO granted a request by the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel to reopen a case tied to FirstEnergy utilities’ distribution modernization rider and to launch an independent third-party audit to ensure revenue from ratepayers was not improperly used to support HB 6.

The PUCO’s action came just days after the Supreme Court of Ohio postponed the collection of $170 million in fees authorized by HB 6 — a direct result of the legal challenge mounted by the OMA Energy Group. The stay provides another backstop of protection for consumers who, on Jan. 1, were supposed to start paying the subsidies authorized by HB 6. 1/4/2021