Posted on Apr 20, 2022
Dark money helped Ohio utilities subsidize coal plants, delaying climate action at ratepayers’...
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It has been three years since Ohio lawmakers first introduced the power plant bailout legislation that is now at the heart of the largest corruption case in state history.
Since House Bill 6 passed in 2019, an FBI investigation has revealed a $60 million bribery scheme, leading to extensive admissions by FirstEnergy — a utility company central to the scandal — and guilty pleas from three defendants in a federal criminal case.
Beyond that, though, accountability has been slow to come, and HB 6, which also gutted the state’s clean energy standards, remains on the books.
Just as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report notes how vested interests have blocked progress on climate change mitigation, the HB 6 scandal shows how utility, fossil fuel and nuclear interests have framed Ohio energy policy, even when that policy conflicts with voter preferences on renewable energy.
“In Ohio, in the wake of HB 6, we’re seeing just how tied together energy issues are with the state of our democracy,” said Neil Waggoner, Ohio senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign.
Since House Bill 6 passed in 2019, an FBI investigation has revealed a $60 million bribery scheme, leading to extensive admissions by FirstEnergy — a utility company central to the scandal — and guilty pleas from three defendants in a federal criminal case.
Beyond that, though, accountability has been slow to come, and HB 6, which also gutted the state’s clean energy standards, remains on the books.
Just as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report notes how vested interests have blocked progress on climate change mitigation, the HB 6 scandal shows how utility, fossil fuel and nuclear interests have framed Ohio energy policy, even when that policy conflicts with voter preferences on renewable energy.
“In Ohio, in the wake of HB 6, we’re seeing just how tied together energy issues are with the state of our democracy,” said Neil Waggoner, Ohio senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign.
Dark money helped Ohio utilities subsidize coal plants, delaying climate action at ratepayers’...
Posted from wvxu.org
Energy
Corruption
FBI
Scandal
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."High stakes
Ohio is a major energy producer and significant source of emissions, with a carbon footprint comparable to countries like Spain or the United Arab Emirates.
As of 2020, Ohio, with the seventh largest population, used the fourth largest amount of electricity among all the states. Roughly 81% of Ohio’s net electricity generation comes from fossil fuels.
After a 2008 law set the stage for a competitive market, reported campaign contributions from utility, nuclear and coal interests jumped substantially. FirstEnergy gave more than $560,000 in 2010 and nearly $785,000 in 2012. Combined giving from the utility, coal and nuclear industries exceeded $3.3 million in 2018.
But reported campaign donations don’t tell the whole story.
The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission enabled even higher levels of unreported political spending through for-profit or nonprofit dark money organizations.
FirstEnergy and others who gave to dark money groups stood to gain a lot from HB 6. The law earmarked about $1 billion in statewide ratepayer subsidies for two former FirstEnergy nuclear plants over the course of six years. HB 6 also codified subsidies for two 1950s-era coal plants owned by other companies. Those subsidies have cost roughly $240 million since 2020 began, while adding approximately 23 million tons of greenhouse gases to the air.
Householder, the former House Speaker, faces a trial on criminal charges next year, along with lobbyist Matt Borges, who previously chaired the Ohio Republican Party. Two other individuals and the dark money group Generation Now filed guilty pleas. Another co-defendant, lobbyist Neil Clark, died of an apparent suicide last year after writing a tell-all book that, among other things, claims Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine received a $5 million bribe from FirstEnergy."...
..."High stakes
Ohio is a major energy producer and significant source of emissions, with a carbon footprint comparable to countries like Spain or the United Arab Emirates.
As of 2020, Ohio, with the seventh largest population, used the fourth largest amount of electricity among all the states. Roughly 81% of Ohio’s net electricity generation comes from fossil fuels.
After a 2008 law set the stage for a competitive market, reported campaign contributions from utility, nuclear and coal interests jumped substantially. FirstEnergy gave more than $560,000 in 2010 and nearly $785,000 in 2012. Combined giving from the utility, coal and nuclear industries exceeded $3.3 million in 2018.
But reported campaign donations don’t tell the whole story.
The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission enabled even higher levels of unreported political spending through for-profit or nonprofit dark money organizations.
FirstEnergy and others who gave to dark money groups stood to gain a lot from HB 6. The law earmarked about $1 billion in statewide ratepayer subsidies for two former FirstEnergy nuclear plants over the course of six years. HB 6 also codified subsidies for two 1950s-era coal plants owned by other companies. Those subsidies have cost roughly $240 million since 2020 began, while adding approximately 23 million tons of greenhouse gases to the air.
Householder, the former House Speaker, faces a trial on criminal charges next year, along with lobbyist Matt Borges, who previously chaired the Ohio Republican Party. Two other individuals and the dark money group Generation Now filed guilty pleas. Another co-defendant, lobbyist Neil Clark, died of an apparent suicide last year after writing a tell-all book that, among other things, claims Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine received a $5 million bribe from FirstEnergy."...
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