Don't be fooled. Know the facts about FirstEnergy's Bailout Plan.
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We’ve made it through the final days of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) hearing on FirstEnergy’s $3-billion bailout. Now the hearing has wrapped, initial briefs will be due November 22 and reply briefs due December 22.

If FirstEnergy got its Christmas wish, there’d be a lot more stockings full of coal than goodies – but we’ll have to wait till the New Year for the PUCO’s decision.

You can always visit EDF’s FirstEnergy website for our newsletter archive and links to the latest news about FirstEnergy’s bailout.

 
 

FirstEnergy’s Got Friends in High Places…but That’s About It

FirstEnergy may be facing severe criticism of its $3-billion bailout proposal from a diverse set of stakeholders and newspaper editors, yet it retains one powerful resource behind the scenes – extremely well-connected lobbyists. You could say the utility giant has the most political clout in Ohio’s capital. For example, of the many people championing FirstEnergy’s anti-innovation stance, two are chairmen of county Republican parties. And if you take a close look at the list, you’ll see even deeper ties to high-ranking political players.

But aside from FirstEnergy’s wealthy lobby posse, the utility seems to have few supporters for its request. Sure, it’s “earned” a few along the way via special giveaways with groups like Industrial Energy Users—Ohio and the Kroger Company. But the overwhelming community consensus from groups like the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, Walmart, Ohio Citizen Action, and the staff of the PUCO continues to be: Reject the deal.

If it weren’t for its “friends” that have been, errr, financially encouraged, FirstEnergy would be eating lunch all by its lonesome.

 
 

Please, Sir, May I Have Some More?

The justification for FirstEnergy’s bailout plea is simple: The utility claims it needs the subsidies in order to keep providing Ohioans with reliable power. Perhaps FirstEnergy never learned the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want.’

The most-recent earnings call shows the company is actually not struggling. At all. And you can take CEO Chuck Jones’ word for it: “Our strong third-quarter results reflect a solid performance across all three of our businesses — Regulated Distribution, Regulated Transmission and Competitive Energy Services.”

Jones also partially credits PJM capacity market reforms (that FirstEnergy pushed) for the strong earnings quarter.

Clearly, FirstEnergy is in a bind. It can’t imply to Wall Street that it’s desperate, lest its investors give up and flee. But it has to convince regulators that it could fail. The truth is FirstEnergy won’t fail. And it doesn’t need the money. It just wants it.

 

Quote of the Week

This week’s quote comes from Gail Reitenbach, PhD, editor of POWER Magazine. In her piece on embracing flexibility and modernization, she highlights FirstEnergy’s “policy flip-flops” when it comes to regulation and clean energy.

“The reality is that reality is changing, the playing field has never been level, and now it’s fluid rather than just tilting. Companies that dig in their heels to keep outdated plants operating on life support […] are digging their own graves.”

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Happy digging, FirstEnergy.