Press Release

July 22, 2021

FirstEnergy Penalty Should ‘Sting’ a Lot Harder

$230M deferred prosecution settlement not sufficient to discourage corruption

FirstEnergy Corporation, the utility at the center of the largest bribery and money-laundering scheme ever, will pay $230 million in a deferred prosecution agreement.

The power company implicated both Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo in a scheme that resulted in a $1 billion bailout for nuclear plants and eliminated funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy, among other profitable concessions.

In a press conference, the U.S. attorney’s office said the $230 million penalty “stings.”

Statement from Environmental Law & Policy Center Senior Attorney Rob Kelter

“For a company that made $1.1 billion last year, this penalty doesn’t seem to sufficiently ‘sting,’ to quote the U.S. attorney’s office. This penalty should sting a lot harder if it’s going to discourage corruption,” said Environmental Law & Policy Center Senior Attorney Rob Kelter. “The public has a right to know all the details of FirstEnergy’s wrongdoing, and to learn how the US attorney’s office settled on what seems like a very low penalty in light of the financial rewards to FirstEnergy and the massive scale of its wrongdoing.”

ELPC filed a motion last year to vacate PUCO orders during Sam Randazzo’s tenure as chairman.