Any day now, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) may make its decision on FirstEnergy and AEP’s bailout requests.

For those of you following March Madness, imagine your favorite team is behind by only 2 points with 3 seconds left on the clock. There’s still a chance the star player (utility commissioners) could come through and save the day. Will they be the hero – or the one who blows the whole game? And by blowing the game, we mean consigning Ohioans to substantial increases on their electric bill, ongoing air pollution, and an anti-competitive electric market that favors incumbents over innovators. So…real consequences.

We still have hope the commissioners will dismiss the proposals and win the game for Ohioans. (And we promise that’s the only sports metaphor we’ll ever attempt. As long as the PUCO doesn’t drop the ball.)

Finally, some of you may have noticed FirstEnergy has recently – conveniently – rolled out a shiny new advertising campaign, claiming “the switch is on” for a cleaner energy future. Don’t fall for it.

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

Reasons to Reject: And the List Goes On, the List Goes On…

Instead of our typical news update, we’d like to provide you with a handy roundup of all the reasons FirstEnergy and AEP’s justifications for the bailouts are bogus. Consider this your cheat sheet for the big game, commissioners.

• Price certainty: The power giants say their subsidies will be good for customers by providing certainty about future electricity rates. How is it a good thing to know – for certain – that your bills will go up and stay up to protect powerful utilities’ profits? The only real certainty is customers will need to pay an extra $130 per year so the companies can enjoy bonuses and dividends.
   
• Bills, bills, bills: For companies so concerned with immediate earnings, it’s interesting FirstEnergy and AEP claim the bailouts will save Ohioans money “in the long run.” Even that statement is also not true. According to a state agency, they will actually cost Ohio almost $6 billion in increased electric bills.
   
• Reliability: You know who we should trust on this issue? The entity whose job it is to ensure electric reliability. That would be the regional grid operator, which says Ohio has lots of excess capacity and reliability is not an issue.
   
• Biz: When it comes to Buckeye businesses, just ask the head of major Ohio tire maker Cooper Tire for his take on the utilities’ income-guarantee plans: “[They] will make it more difficult for […] Ohio manufacturers to remain competitive in the global markets.” You don’t need a business degree to know that’s not good.
   
• Competition: The deals undermine electric competition and, as a reminder, the PUCO is supposed to foster a fair, competitive marketplace. The free-market think tank R Street said it well: “This is a test of whether Ohio will stand by competitive market principles or cave to corporate welfare and poor bureaucratic judgment.” Plus, other power producers like Exelon and Dynegy are clamoring to provide the same energy at lower prices. Not sure in what universe you to have to plead with conservatively-principled commissioners to let you compete.
   
• Grid modernization: PUCO Chairman Andre Porter laid out a solid recipe for grid modernization in Ohio, with 3 key ingredients: ensure a diverse set of energy resources, engage customers, and embrace technology. The bailouts contradict every one. Even worse, the grid operator believes the subsidy requests will actually discourage investment in the grid and modern technologies. Pretty sure modernization doesn’t mean desperately clinging to the past. Pretty sure it means the opposite. 
   
• Breathing: The requested subsidies will keep old, dirty power plants online and spewing pollution into our air.

We could go on, but we know attention spans are getting shorter these days. Besides, aren’t those enough reasons to say enough with the bailouts?

And really, the cards are on the table. Numerous businesses, plus consumer and environmental advocates, have already voiced their opinions on why the subsidies are bad news for nearly all involved.

There’s simply no good reason for regulators to approve the bailouts, and too many reasons to reject them. Don’t succumb to the utilities’ political might. Show independence and save Ohioans $6 billion.