More Details On The Coal/Nuclear Bailout In Ohio That Generated Ongoing Bribery Case

[hatrack]

EDIT

The charges are linked to a controversial law passed last year that bailed out two nuclear power plants in the state while gutting subsidies for renewable energy and energy efficiency. The federal complaint describes a years-long bribery campaign to build support for Householder’s bid to become House speaker and then pass the nuclear bailout law with his help. Householder won the speakership in January 2019, and the bailout passed in July 2019. It went into effect in October.

Householder, a Republican, represents a district east of Columbus. He first began serving in the Ohio House in 1997 and was speaker from 2001 to 2004, when he stepped down because of term limits. He then worked as Perry County auditor before returning to the House in 2017.

EDIT

Opponents were unable to match the political power of FirstEnergy Solutions, the owner of the state’s two nuclear plants, and its allies. While much of the debate was about nuclear power, the law may end up functioning as more of a coal bailout. On Friday, FirstEnergy Solutions said it had decided to cancel plans to close the W.H. Sammis coal-fired power plant, an eastern Ohio plant that has been described as a “super-polluter.” The plant, previously scheduled to shut down in 2022, is not covered by the bailout law, but the windfall from the bailout money is improving the company’s finances enough to make moves unrelated to the nuclear plants.

The new law is in line with Ohio’s recent history of hostility to renewable energy, while also making the state an outlier as several other states have increased their support for renewable energy, including plans to move to 100 percent carbon-free or renewable electricity, most recently in Maine and New York. “This is one of the worst pieces of energy related legislation we’ve seen,” said Dan Sawmiller, Ohio energy policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

EDIT

https://climatecrocks.com/2020/07/21/ohio-coal-nuclear-bailout-at-heart-of-60-m-bribery-case/

[progree]

1. I didn't know First Energy is currently filing for bankruptcy

Also, nukyuler is cheaper than coal in a way, sort of:

From the OP's link https://climatecrocks.com/2020/07/21/ohio-coal-nuclear-bailout-at-heart-of-60-m-bribery-case/

The new law bails out nuclear power in Ohio. Everyone paying for electricity in their homes will see a new $0.85 charge on their monthly bills. That, along with new charges for commercial and industrial users, will pump $150 million into two nuclear plants, Davis-Besse and Perry.

... Utilities will charge ratepayers up to $1.50 a month to subsidize the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation’s two struggling coal plants, both built in the 50’s, one in southeast Ohio, the other in Indiana.

[Midnight Writer]

2. So is anyone from FirstEnergy being charged?

[Finishline42]

3. GOP Operatives Accused of Running Ohio's Largest Ever Bribery Scheme

The FBI has them on tape!

In September 2019, Matt Borges, an Ohio lobbyist and former chairman of the state Republican Party, reached out to a canvasser working to collect petition signatures to roll back a massive bailout of Ohio’s nuclear energy industry. According to federal prosecutors, he offered the canvasser $15,000 to be a double agent and provide the opposition with inside information.

The canvasser initially recoiled at the prospect, and immediately after the meeting contacted the FBI. The FBI wired him up and told him to circle back with Borges and accept the offer. According to criminal complaints handed down this week, the canvasser—referred to as Confidential Human Source 1—reconnected with Borges, got that $15,000 payment, and proceeded to provide extensive, damning details to investigators about what the U.S. attorney in Ohio’s Southern District called “likely the largest bribery [and] money-laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/fucking-cold-blooded-gop-operatives-accused-of-running-ohios-largest-ever-bribery-scheme

Story at link but most of it is behind a paywall.