First Energy, the Ohio utility that was at the heart of one of the worst political scandals in Ohio history, including a $60 million bribery scheme, now wants the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to greenlight giving ratepayers worse service, literally, to "take longer to restore power when the lights go out. The latter two utilities [subsidiaries Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison] would also be allowed slightly more frequent outages per customer each year" according to Canary Media. To add insult to injury, "FirstEnergy’s case is particularly notable because the company has slow-rolled clean energy and energy efficiency, two tools that advocates say can cost-effectively bolster grid reliability and guard against weather-related outages."
The original scandal involved top executive of Akron, Ohio-based First Energy (FE), who created a a 501(c)(4) nonprofit to push for a $1.3 billion taxpayer bailout of FE's money-losing Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear plants via Ohio House Bill 6, which also increased retail electricity rates. It was described by the United States Attorney David DeVilliers as "likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio; DeVilliers charged Ohio GOP House Speaker Larry Householder and four others with racketeering in July 2020.
Householder was eventually convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Matt Borges, the former Ohio GOP chair, was tried alongside Householder and convicted of racketeering; sentenced to 5 years in federal prison. Jeff Longstreth, a Householder "strategist," pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy; he was later sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison. Juan Cespedes, a FirstEnergy‑linked lobbyist, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison. Chuck Jones, the former FirstEnergy CEO, has been indicted in Ohio on state charges, including bribery and related offenses, but has not been convicted. Michael Dowling, a former FirstEnergy senior VP, was indicted on similar state charges but also has not been convicted. Sam Randazzo, the former PUCO chair, was charged in both federal and state cases, but died by suicide in 2024 before trial; the criminal cases ended without a conviction or sentence. Prosecutors also identified broader political involvement, including "suspicious" meetings involving some current Ohio political figures. FirstEnergy was fined more than $250 million.
Coincidentally, sitting Ohio US Senator Jon Husted, a former lieutenant governor, is now (3/6/26) seen by energy insiders as central to the the scandal, and being called to testify. Newly released documents, including text messages, phone records, and court filings, show Husted had extensive contact with indicted FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling before, during, and after his 2018 campaign. Allegedly, his efforts including pushing the infamous Ohio HB 6.
Husted has been referenced extensively in the HB 6 corruption proceedings, more than 100 times as of February 2026, and is scheduled to testify via video on March 13, 2026, as a defense witness for charged former FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling. Defense attorneys contend he acted as a political supporter of the energy bill rather than a participant in the bribery scheme. Still, newly surfaced records show FirstEnergy secretly routed a $1 million dark‑money donation to a nonprofit backing Husted's campaign, a contribution that only recently became public. Husted has not been charged but some pieces of evidence, including text messages describing him as “fighting to the end” for FirstEnergy’s priorities and a meeting with former utility regulator Sam Randazzo just two days before HB 6 was introduced, has intensified scrutiny of his role in advancing the legislation. News 5 Cleveland reports that "Husted 'worked closely' with FirstEnergy 'to pass H.B. 6 in 2019, after they helped fund his campaign."
Currently, Husted is under fire for attending a $1,000-per-plate fundraiser in Ohio while claiming he could not testify in person in a major corruption trial due to the war in Iran. Videos show Husted traveling from Washington, D.C., to Columbus on the same day he was scheduled to testify in the FirstEnergy bribery scandal trial, where his absence was justified by his legal team citing the Iran conflict.
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/utilities/firstenergy-ohio-lower-reliability-rules-outages