Santa came early for FirstEnergy. Just when we thought its fossil fuel bailout couldn’t get any worse for Ohioans, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) staff pulled a 180 and caved to the utility giant. Endorsing a settlement that gives FirstEnergy everything it wanted and more, cloaked with vague, unenforceable language, essentially lets the utility pretend to be “green.” In one short week, this has morphed from a corporate bailout to a government sellout. Check out our blog post on the topic, and read on for more details of the settlement.

Before moving on to the nitty gritty of the backroom deal, be sure to read the pre-settlement Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article on how FirstEnergy and fellow Ohio power player AEP want their “users to bail out unprofitable plants.” WSJ’s words.

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

When You’re Selling Out, What’s Another Billion Dollars?

One of the main arguments against FirstEnergy’s original bailout proposal was its hefty price tag: The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel estimated Ohioans would pay $3 billion over the next 15 years to keep the utility’s fleet afloat. Presumably this was an influencing factor when the staff of the PUCO originally reacted to the proposal with “no thanks, keep trying.”

Now, the very same staff has agreed to a settlement estimated to cost Ohioans nearly $4 billion over the next eight years. The difference is enough to send nearly 8,000 students to college for four years or buy over 7,000 homes in Ohio, for example. The PUCO’s acceptance of the new costs everyday people will have to shoulder is unacceptable. They sold out.

Even if you’re not a climate hawk, it would hard to miss all of the attention surrounding the Paris Climate Talks this week. More than 150 world leaders have convened to discuss how to save the world (basically). Leading up to the conference, countries were asked to put forth voluntary plans to act on climate – and more than 150 did. While the outcome is still TBD, these commitments represent a remarkable example of leaders trying to put aside political differences for the common good.

Back in the U.S., FirstEnergy is using its power to prevent change and progress with backroom deals that force customers to extend the lives of dirty coal plants. So, on the one hand, we’ve got world leaders negotiating historic treaties to cut pollution, and, on the other hand, regulators in Columbus subsidizing more pollution and turning their backs on innovation. Efforts on a world stage for everyone to see, versus backroom deals to slip by the public. Paris looking forward, Columbus looking backward.

How do you say “irony” in French?

Quotes of the Week: Criticism Pours In

Although there is no saving grace to the new settlement, there is a small silver lining. Many (angry) voices are denouncing the insulting plan. A special thanks to John Funk of the Cleveland Plain Dealer for rounding up a sampling of the reactions (full disclosure: our own Dick Munson is quoted). It’s worth reading the whole bunch, but here are two of our favorites:

• Robert Kelter, senior staff attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center: "This is one of the worst backroom deals in the history of utility regulation.”
   
• Robert C. Flexon, President and CEO, Dynegy Inc., a Houston-based power company with 21 million customers: "The power purchase agreement is a subsidy that only benefits FirstEnergy, while increasing power costs for the citizens of Ohio and their businesses, negatively impacting economic development in the state, and distorting the power market for FirstEnergy's benefit. The fault of FirstEnergy's inability to compete in Ohio lies with FirstEnergy and it should not be dependent on the citizens and businesses of Ohio to provide a bail-out."

It’s going to take fierce opposition to topple this new settlement. Keep your engines fired!