An Ohio attorney general candidate says JobsOhio’s board chairman may have crossed ethics lines when the nonprofit organization set up a $100 million fund to help Ohio utilities build nuclear power plants.
JobsOhio Board Chairman Josh Rubin heads CJR Group, which lobbies for Columbus-based American Electric Power. AEP could receive grants and low-interest loans from the new JobsOhio $100 million energy fund.
John Kulewicz, who is running for attorney general as a Democrat against current State Auditor Keith Faber, filed a complaint with Ohio Inspector General Randy Meyer, alleging Rubin may have used his JobsOhio chairmanship to create a fund to benefit his lobbying client.
“In effect, JobsOhio, using Ohio liquor profits, is paying AEP to develop mini-nuclear reactors that will have little to no local oversight and be owned by the utility company itself,” Kulewicz said. “And the CEO of the firm that lobbies for AEP is the chairman of the state agency that is granting the $100 million to develop the technology.”
Rubin did not respond to an email seeking comment, but JobsOhio spokesperson Ryan Squire said there is no conflict of interest. The newly established fund, which received unanimous board support, won’t benefit just one company.
He noted that small modular reactors, which generate nuclear energy, have yet to be built in the U.S., though “we do think SMRs are part of the future.”
Kulewicz also filed a complaint with the inspector general in March to investigate former Ohio State University President Ted Carter and JobsOhio, which paid $60,000 toward a podcast produced out of the studios of WOSU Public Media.
JobsOhio is a private nonprofit funded by the state’s liquor profits. Former Gov. John Kasich created the organization in 2011 to help Ohio attract new businesses and development without the bureaucracy of government. It now has 214 employees and $1.44 billion in assets, according to its latest tax filing.
Lawmakers consider major shift
In the Ohio Statehouse, lawmakers are considering a major change in how utilities operate. If approved, the policy change would dovetail with the $100 million JobsOhio energy fund.
Nearly 30 years ago, Ohio crafted a law that prohibits utilities from owning power generation. But a bill pending in the Ohio House would lift that ban and permit utilities such as FirstEnergy and AEP to build and operate small nuclear plants.
In an earnings call held in May, AEP signaled its interest in small nuclear plants, according to Utility Dive.
The Ohio Manufacturers Association opposes the bill, saying it would create a “nuclear project financing order” to force customers to pay for new plants.
Ohio Manufacturers Association President Ryan Augsburger said: “This bill is not a nuclear development strategy. It is a utility ownership strategy.”
He likened it to the corruption-plagued House Bill 6, which passed in 2019 and would have guaranteed subsidies for FirstEnergy Solutions’ aging nuclear power plants. It led to an FBI investigation into the largest political corruption case in state history.
“This is the same movie with a new title,” Augsburger said. “Utilities get guaranteed returns. Customers get the risk.”
Utilities see small nuclear plants as a way to provide power to big customers, such as data centers. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio would have to sign off and the utilities would need to have long-term customer service agreements in place before they could build the plants.
But the manufacturers note that after those agreements expire, consumers would be on the hook.
The manufacturers association is telling lawmakers that energy demand projects are overstated by as much as 40%, which is inflating commitments to building energy infrastructure.
Kulewicz questioned whether nuclear power generators will end up placed in residential neighborhoods.
“It is clear with the Ohio General Assembly’s push to require all data centers to have 50% of their electric output come from on-site generators that Ohioans will see many of these nuclear reactors in their neighborhoods,” Kulewicz said.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: JobsOhio nuclear energy fund sparks ethics probe over chair’s AEP ties
Reporting by Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
