COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine supports repealing a remaining aspect of corrupt legislation that forces ratepayers to spend hundreds of millions per year on an out-of-state and unprofitable coal plant. This comes as the state moves forward in its case against the architects of House Bill 6, the bill that resulted from the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history.
Every month, John Makley looks at his energy bill and sighs.
"With the interest rates going up and everything is getting more expensive, it's hard to save anything these days," Makley said.
He has been trying to use less energy but is frustrated by what he calls “hidden costs” on his FirstEnergy bills.
RELATED: FirstEnergy customers furious as former CEO, VP plead not guilty in bribery scandal
"They don't break it out, it's not as itemized as you like it to be because they're trying to hide it," the Clevelander said.
Not included in the bill is a subsidy that requires ratepayers to fund two of Ohio Valley Electric Coalition's (OVEC) coal plants — one that isn’t even in the state. The main beneficiaries for OVEC are American Electric Power Company (AEP), Duke Energy and AES Ohio. Still, FirstEnergy collects payment for it.
To find out which rider benefited the plants since it wasn't on the bill, I had to search through the 150-page document on FirstEnergy's website about tariffs. Still, there was no mention of OVEC under any of the riders. I reached out to the company to find out where it was — turns out it falls under a rider on page 146.
"Although certain FirstEnergy subsidiaries are considered OVEC shareholders, we do not profit from our OVEC ownership," FirstEnergy spokesperson Hannah Catlett said. "In addition, any money we collect from our Ohio customers under the 'Legacy Generation Resource Rider' related to the H.B. 6 OVEC provision is ultimately passed along to other Ohio utilities – AEP, AES and Duke – to cover their costs."
This handout was part of House Bill 6, corrupt legislation that landed former House Speaker Larry Householder in federal prison for 20 years.
Fast Facts
Back in 2019, Householder took a $61 million bribe in exchange for legislation to give FirstEnergy a $1 billion bailout, named H.B. 6, all at the expense of the taxpayers.
In March 2023, a jury found that Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges, beyond a reasonable doubt, participated in the racketeering scheme that left four men guilty and another, Clark, dead by suicide.
RELATED: Jury finds former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and co-defendant Matt Borges guilty
In late June that year, federal judge Timothy Black sentenced Householder to 20 years in prison. Borges got five years. The two surviving defendants — Jeff Longstreth and Juan Cespedes — took plea agreements early on, helping the FBI, and are still awaiting their sentencing. The feds are asking for zero to six months for them.
Former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones, former FirstEnergy Senior Vice President Michael Dowling and former Public Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo were all hit with state bribery charges. Each pleaded not guilty during their joint arraignment in mid-February 2024. They are accused of masterminding the corruption scheme.
In April 2024, Randazzo would become the second defendant accused in the scandal to die by suicide. Neil Clark, a lobbyist accused of bribery, killed himself after pleading not guilty in 2021.
RELATED: DeWine, Husted won't comment on Randazzo's death amid corruption trial
Recently, Householder's attorney told me his team plans to use their connection to President-elect Donald Trump to try to get out of prison.
RELATED: Larry Householder using Trump 'connections’ to try to get out of prison
The convicted felon was supposed to be in court Monday, but it ended up getting pushed back.
I have covered this bribery scandal extensively — from the legislation going through the Statehouse, the arrests, trial, conviction and sentencing of Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges.
RELATED: New texts allegedly show Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted leading FirstEnergy's push for House Bill 6
OVEC
And while some of the corrupt House Bill 6 was overturned, the OVEC provision still stands.
"We don't want to pay for this," Makley said.
A study commissioned by the Ohio Manufacturers' Association found that in 2024 alone, these subsidies cost ratepayers roughly $200 million. The company lost more than $100 million the same year, so consumers are paying for plants that aren't profitable.
"HB 6’s OVEC subsidies currently require Ohio’s residential utility customers to pay between $1.30 and $1.50 per month, depending on whether their utility is owned by AEP, AES Ohio, Duke Energy or FirstEnergy," according to the Energy News Network.
This has been happening for years, with no change from the Statehouse.
"When you're dealing with any issue in regard to utilities, any issue in regard to energy — there's always the question, 'Who pays?' and the goal, of course, is always to be as fair as as you can," DeWine told reporters last week.
I questioned the governor on "fairness."
"We're still paying for a coal plant in Indiana, the OVEC plant that we don't even know if—" I said, getting cut off.
"Yeah... I'm fine if that is certainly taken out," DeWine responded.
In the summer of 2024, I discovered and reported on more texts alleging that the governor helped push forward H.B. 6 and got a playbook from FirstEnergy on how to convince others, according to FirstEnergy executives.
RELATED: New texts show FirstEnergy allegedly working with Gov. DeWine to pass House Bill 6
That provision was never something the governor asked for, adding that the lawmakers put it into H.B. 6.
The governor isn’t the only one who told me he would be fine with reversing it. State Rep. Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville), along with a bipartisan group of representatives, has been trying for years to repeal the entirety of H.B. 6.
Most recently, the legislation would eliminate the subsidies for the two 1950s-era plants. It would also require full repayments of revenues collected under the H.B. 6 OVEC subsidy.
RELATED: Ohio Statehouse drama continues as lawmakers attempt to repeal scandal-ridden coal plant subsidies
"A subsidy of any kind is not what [Ohioans] pay taxes for and certainly not for something that's located in another state," Ferguson said.
He listed three main reasons why it should be gone: the state shouldn't be "artificially propping up" a private company on the ratepayer's dime, it's corrupt, and one of the plants is in Indiana.
"I don't think that it's ever fair to put the taxpayer at a further disadvantage for the sake of a corporation," he continued.
Although he doesn't want to carry the legislation, he would cosponsor a bill to repeal the OVEC subsidies, he said. This would then have to be overseen by House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima).
Huffman has said for years that if the plants aren't making money, the legislators should look into the legislation.
"The plants were funded based on a certain premise many, many moons ago," Huffman responded when I asked him about the poor-performing plants. "And if those premises are still true, then we should continue to do what [that]. If they're not, then we shouldn't I don't know that we've now discovered a new path forward or a new reason why they should be shut down."
Makley hopes that something will happen to lessen costs for ratepayers like him.
"Everybody's struggling these days to maintain their way of living," he said. "Anything that we could keep in our pockets is very helpful."
However, he doesn't believe that the lawmakers will actually do anything to help Ohioans. Even if the OVEC provisions were repealed, Makley believes that the lobbyists would get another provision put into law that would benefit the companies.
"It seems like they're dragging their feet on certain aspects of it, so I'm wondering — how far down this line of corruption really goes?"
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