Dirty energy bailout is a bad deal
Posted January 16, 2015 in Press Releases
FirstEnergy wants PUCO to force ratepayers to subsidize waste
Contact: Michael Shields, 216.361.9801 Download press release Download testimony
Public hearing on FirstEnergy request is Tuesday in Cleveland
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio should reject a proposed FirstEnergy Corp. plan that would bail out two failing power plants, at an estimated $3.1 billion cost to consumers.FirstEnergy successfully lobbied the Ohio legislature last summer to freeze clean-energy standards the state adopted six years ago, and the utility is now asking the PUCO to protect two inefficient plants.
“Those standards represented an opportunity for FirstEnergy to reshape its energy sources responsibly,” Policy Matters researcher Michael Shields said in testimony to the PUCO earlier this week. “The rate case now pending before us is the result of FirstEnergy’s decision to waste that opportunity.”
Akron-based FirstEnergy is asking the PUCO to allow its utilities