Eye on Ohio (https://eyeonohio.com/)
Documents produced at the end of July shed light on Sam Randazzo’s role at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. But more documents before and after his tenure still haven’t been produced. This article is provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join the free mailing lists for Eye on Ohio or the Energy News Network, as this helps provide more public service reporting. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine knew critics questioned whether the former FirstEnergy nuclear plants really needed House Bill 6’s $1.1 billion bailout. But Sam Randazzo, chair of the state’s regulatory commission at the time, assured DeWine the plants couldn’t otherwise cover their costs. DeWine signed the nuclear and coal bailout bill into law in July 2019. Just one year later, federal agents arrested former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others for alleged crimes related to the bill. And while its nuclear bailout provisions were repealed in 2021, HB 6 remains at the heart of the $60 million corruption scandal that continues in Ohio.
FirstEnergy admitted last summer that it paid $4.3 million to a company linked to Randazzo shortly before his appointment to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio in early 2019. The company stipulated in a federal court filing that in return for the payment, it expected favorable treatment from Randazzo in his official capacity. Randazzo has denied wrongdoing but resigned from the PUCO in November 2020, days after an FBI search of his home.
Charity groups often depend on utilities for funds to do good works, but rate hikes by those utilities can impose more stress on low-income people the nonprofit groups serve. This article is provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join the free mailing lists for Eye on Ohioor the Energy News Network, as this helps provide more public service reporting. Central Ohio’s LifeCare Alliance is a lifeline for tens of thousands of seniors and medically challenged residents.
This story provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism together with the Cleveland Observer. Please join Eye on Ohio's free mailing list as this helps provide more public service reporting to the community. Unprecedented demand and a sparse employee pipeline are adding stress to Ohio’s already strained behavioral health system. From 2013 to 2019, demand for behavioral health services rose 353% statewide, according to data from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
Texts about the $456 million charge may further undermine public confidence in the PUCO. This article is provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join the free mailing lists for Eye on Ohio or the Energy News Network, as this helps provide more public service reporting. Newly disclosed texts from a former head of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio suggest he knew a grid modernization charge that cost ratepayers nearly half a billion dollars was “likely to be found illegal and could not be refunded.”
Former PUCO Chair Asim Haque and former FirstEnergy Vice President Michael Dowling exchanged text messages on the same day the Supreme Court of Ohio held the charge unlawful.
Al Jenkins outside of his Cleveland home. This project was funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Center and provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism.