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Ohio's utility regulator did more to help FirstEnergy than hamper it JESSIE BALMERT | Cincinnati Enquirer 9 hours ago The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio stands between Ohioans' pocketbooks and utilities like Akron-based FirstEnergy. But under former chairman Sam Randazzo, the PUCO acted less like a watchdog and more like a lapdog. In the year since the FBI searched Randazzo's German Village condominium and the months since FirstEnergy admitted to bribing the regulator to do its will, the PUCO has not launched an investigation into how Randazzo and the commission was influenced by the powerful utility. The PUCO comprises five commissioners appointed by the governor to regulate utilities in Ohio. Randazzo, who was its chairman, has not been charged with any crime and says he did nothing wrong. Federal prosecutors have said their investigation is ongoing. In August, Democratic lawmakers called for an independent investigation into how FirstEnergy swayed PUCO actions. But that hasn't happened. PUCO and FirstEnergy: How Ohio agency has handled issues involving utility The commission's most decisive action – reinstating the company's distribution rate case last year – was prompted by an environmental group rather than regulators' own soul-searching. The PUCO says it's doing its job. The commission has four open audits into aspects of the federal investigation into FirstEnergy and House Bill 6, spokesman Matt Schilling said. The PUCO is cooperating with federal investigators. But even the audits PUCO has conducted have been delayed or limited in scope. A probe into how intertwined FirstEnergy's companies were didn't investigate the $1 billion nuclear bailout in House Bill 6. "It is difficult in this case for the PUCO to discover the facts about the FirstEnergy scandal while not looking for them," wrote the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, which advocates for residential utility customers, of that audit. Commissioners can't discuss pending audits before them, Schilling said. Commissioners either declined to comment or did not reply to requests for comment about what they have done to investigate FirstEnergy's influence on the PUCO. Contrast the PUCO's approach with Maryland's utility regulator, which recently announced it would force FirstEnergy to turn over an internal investigation that led the company to fire several executives. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved a comprehensive audit into its FirstEnergy subsidiary. Those commissions took steps that the PUCO didn't, former PUCO Commissioner Ashley Brown said. "It's remarkable passivity and you have to ask yourself why," said Brown, who directs the Harvard Electricity Policy Group, which analyzes electricity issues across the country. "The facts don’t just voluntarily show up at the door. You have to go after them." FirstEnergy's rate case delay Here's one example of how the PUCO let FirstEnergy off the hook. Utilities are required to file details on how much the company will charge Ohio customers. That process is called a rate case. Sam Randazzo, former chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio PUCO FirstEnergy's three distribution companies were due to file a rate case by 2024 – their first since 2008. But in November 2019, the PUCO waived that requirement. According to federal investigators, Randazzo played a key role in that decision. Then-FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones texted Randazzo that it wouldn't have happened without him. FirstEnergy and PUCO's chief: How federal investigators say FirstEnergy placed Ohio utility regulator Sam Randazzo in a key role The Ohio Consumers' Counsel and the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association Energy Group took note of the delay, made with little fanfare in one paragraph of a six-page filing. They wanted it reconsidered. The PUCO reconsidered and mostly came to the same conclusion: FirstEnergy could delay its rate case. One commissioner, Daniel R. Conway, disagreed. He said a comprehensive review was important, particularly because utilities were collecting significant money through fees tacked onto bills. In the months that followed, then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and several others were arrested in connection with a nearly $61 million bribery scheme tied to FirstEnergy and its affiliates. The FBI later searched Randazzo's condo, FirstEnergy disclosed it paid a soon-to-be Ohio utility regulator $4.3 million and Randazzo resigned from the PUCO. Lawmakers passed House Bill 6 to help save two nuclear plants, including the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station. DANIEL CARSON/THE NEWS-MESSENGER Then, the Environmental Law & Policy Center asked the PUCO to review the delayed rate case and other FirstEnergy decisions made under Randazzo's tenure. "His participation taints the entire process," attorney Caroline Cox wrote. In December 2020, the PUCO reinstated the rate case – in part because FirstEnergy said it would not oppose that decision. Even the PUCO's wording was cautious: "We are determined to act in a deliberate manner, based upon facts rather than speculation, and with due consideration to the limits on our statutory authority over FirstEnergy Corp. and over the political and charitable activity of all public utilities in this state." Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, said the PUCO needs to dig deeper into how Randazzo influenced decisions like the delayed rate case. "It’s not set up in a way that one person should have that much power," he said. "So what happened that allowed one person to be able to control the entire agenda?" 'He will get it done for us' Another PUCO decision hints at the influence that utilities had there. In April 2020, the Randazzo-led PUCO approved FirstEnergy Advisors as a "competitive retail electric service provider" – essentially an energy broker and aggregator that shops for electricity for customers. The Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled that the PUCO should not have approved the application because of the group's close ties to parent company FirstEnergy. A recently revealed text message exchange shows how FirstEnergy executives pushed for the approval. HB 6: FirstEnergy's history of political donations, bailout requests culminated in House Bill 6 scandal "He will get it done for us but cannot just jettison all process," Jones texted another executive about the application. "Says the combination of overruling Staff and other Commissioners on decoupling, getting rid of SEET and burning the DMR final report has a lot of talk going on in the halls of PUCO about does he work there or for us? He’ll move it as fast as he can." Decoupling, which allowed FirstEnergy to charge customers at a record-high-year level; eliminating the "significantly excessive earnings test" or SEET; and killing an audit of a fee tacked onto customers bills – which the Ohio Supreme Court later nixed – all helped FirstEnergy's bottom line. But the PUCO has done little to probe Randazzo's role in these decisions and why other commissioners went along with them. Instead, the PUCO approved FirstEnergy Advisor's request for a "fresh start" with a new application within seven hours. How Ohio could build a better utility watchdog Public Utilities Commission of Ohio CHRIS RUSSELL/COLUMBUS DISPATCH Groups like the Ohio Consumers' Counsel say these problems stem from utilities having too much influence over selecting PUCO commissioners. The counsel would rather have voters, not politicians, pick their utility watchdogs. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, a Democrat running for governor, proposed firing all the current commissioners. He would start afresh with applicants without connections to Ohio's top utilities. Weinstein and Rep. Jeff Crossman, D-Parma, aren't sure electing commissioners is the solution given FirstEnergy's history of fundraising largesse. Any step forward must involve consumer advocates, Crossman said. "The PUCO is supposed to be acting on the consumer’s behalf and not on behalf of utilities." Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio. 9 hours ago More Stories Election Day: What you need to know Politics City planning for fall ballot after tax increase appears to fail Elections Ohio primary 2020: See results here Elections City council proposes identical income tax levy Elections Lancaster's proposed income tax fails Elections Help Terms of Service Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy Privacy Policy Site Map Accessibility Our Ethical Principles Manage Cookies © Copyright Gannett 2021 About Your Privacy Clicking on the (X) in the top right corner retains the default setting of only strictly necessary cookies and "Always Active" purposes as preset by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) of Europe. 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