Akron-based utility FirstEnergy Corp. has been ordered by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to return nearly $180 million to customers over its rule violations and misuse of ratepayer money as part of the House Bill 6 bribery scandal.
But when will customers see those funds distributed, and how much will they get?
Those details aren’t available yet, but a FirstEnergy representative said Nov. 20 a clearer picture should emerge before Thanksgiving.
“We are currently reviewing the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio’s order and beginning to calculate the refunds that will be issued to customers. FirstEnergy will comply with the Commission’s directive to file restitution calculations by November 26,” spokesperson Lauren Siburkis told the Beacon Journal via email.
How much money is coming back to FirstEnergy customers?
PUCO directed FirstEnergy to return $179.9 million in restitution for the bribery scandal starting as soon as the December billing cycle.
The utility’s website says it serves more than 2 million customers among its three electric companies in Ohio, including more than 1 million in Ohio Edison’s territory, more than 700,000 with The Illuminating Company and more than 300,000 with Toledo Edison.
The PUCO order stipulated the three electric companies under the FirstEnergy umbrella must return that money over the course of three billing cycles, according to a Nov. 19 release. FirstEnergy has not specified whether different refund rates would apply for each of the companies, or if the amount would depend on a customer’s usage or whether they are a residential or commercial account.
Also, the PUCO release did not specify whether the three billing cycles must be consecutive or the refund remitted in equal amounts over that time.
But if they are issued in consecutive months, and if all customers are awarded equal shares of the refund amount, a possible scenario would see qualifying customers receiving credits near $30 applied to each monthly service bill in December 2025 and January and February 2026 in relation to the H.B. 6 scandal.
Tacked on to that amount will be a credit that would roughly amount to as much as $1.10 per bill over three months for fees that FirstEnergy charged customers that it could not justify, PUCO determined.
“The utilities will refund an additional $6.64 million plus interest for certain transactions that it billed to customers but lacked supporting documentation or were misallocated to customers, as identified by a 2021 PUCO audit,” the PUCO release said.
Why is FirstEnergy being penalized by PUCO?
PUCO ruled on three separate but intertwined cases: whether FirstEnergy followed corporate separation regulations, whether the company improperly used ratepayer money on lobbying and political activities, and whether it used ratepayer money improperly to pay certain vendors.
The pay-to-play scheme began in 2017, when former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder flew to President Donald Trump’s inauguration on FirstEnergy’s private jet. From there, federal investigators say Householder and FirstEnergy agreed to help each other: The utility would bankroll Householder’s return to power and Householder would pass legislation to bail out two nuclear plants then owned by a FirstEnergy subsidiary.
Householder championed the passage of H.B. 6, which included the nuclear plant bailout and other legislation that helped make FirstEnergy’s profits recession-proof. FirstEnergy and its allies spent millions to protect that bailout from a ballot campaign to block it.
It all fell apart in 2020 when FBI agents arrested Householder and four other Ohio politicos. In the years since, former FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling have been accused of bribing Householder and a top utility regulator; they have pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges.
FirstEnergy admitted to its role in the bribery scheme and paid a $230 million penalty rather than face federal charges. The company paid $100 million in a settlement agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and $3.9 million to federal utility regulators.
FirstEnergy disclosed that it paid a $4.3 million bribe to Columbus attorney Sam Randazzo just before Gov. Mike DeWine nominated him to lead the PUCO in early 2019. DeWine wanted Randazzo as PUCO chairman despite being warned that Randazzo was too close to FirstEnergy.
Randazzo helped write H.B. 6 and voted to allow FirstEnergy to sidestep a rate case that could’ve cost the utility millions of dollars. After being charged in state and federal courts, Randazzo died by suicide in April 2024.
Three of the PUCO commissioners who served with Randazzo remain on the commission: Dan Conway, Dennis Deters and Lawrence Friedeman.
Beacon Journal reporter Patrick Williams and Columbus Dispatch reporters Jessie Balmert and Laura A. BIschofff contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What will your FirstEnergy refund look like? Utility is working on it
Reporting by Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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