Gavel before the Supreme Court of Ohio, September 20, 2023, at 65 S. Front Street, Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal. Only repost photo with the original article.)
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a major energy company does not have to refund nearly $75 million to customers after it was accused of overcharging to support two unprofitable and scandal-plagued coal plants.
On Wednesday, justices unanimously affirmed that the Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO) could allow American Electric Power (AEP) to collect subsidies in 2018 and 2019 for two Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC) power plants.
One of the 1950s factories is located in southern Ohio and the other is in Indiana.
The PUCO said the fees are “prudent” and “in the best interests of ratepayers” because closing the plant could result in increased costs for customers.
“The Commission found that OVEC’s decision to pursue a mandatory strategy in 2018 and 2019 was prudent given the state at the time of OVEC’s decision,” Judge Pat Fischer wrote.
“However, with the benefit of hindsight, the committee considered that it might have been prudent for OVEC to adopt an economic strategy within a few months.”
Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), the regulatory agency that took the case to the Supreme Court, argued that PUCO staff asked an independent auditor to soften the bill, which found that operating coal-fired power plants was not actually in the best interests of payers.
The auditor removed this conclusion from the final public audit report. The judges rejected that claim, adding that “the evidence is not that one-sided.”
I’m talking about perspective
These OVEC plants are linked to the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history: House Bill 6.
The state is set to retry former FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling for bribery after their original six-week trial ended in a hung jury in delayed March.
They are accused of bribing former PUCO Chairman Sam Randazzo with $4.3 million to obtain favorable judgments.
They are also accused of providing $60 million more in exchange for passing HB 6, a billion-dollar rescue package for the struggling company that resulted in higher utility bills for consumers.
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison for accepting $61 million in bribes from FirstEnergy, specifically from executives.
While AEP is not the primary beneficiary of HB 6, it still benefits from it by codifying a subsidy for coal plants in state law.
Nuclear aid was abolished many years ago, but OVEC subsidies were only abolished in mid-2025.
AND study commissioned by the Ohio Manufacturers Association found that these subsidies will cost taxpayers approximately $200 million in 2024 alone.
That same year, the company lost more than $100 million, so consumers are paying for plants that are not profitable.
Present day
Energy bills continue to rise across Ohio.
“We’re talking about a difference between a few $100 and $500,” said Catherine Turcer, an AEP customer spokeswoman and government accountability advocate.
Taxpayers like Turcer were hoping for some relief, especially since AEP had just raised prices.
“$50 would definitely help most of us,” she said.
If the high court had sided with the OCC, she would have received about $50.
However, some lawmakers still support coal plants.
“There are Ohioans who have worked at this plant for generations – their grandparents worked there,” former Ohio Speaker Jason Stephens said last year when he voted not to repeal the subsidy.
Stephens said closing factories could cause people to lose their jobs and argued that subsidies are not part of the corruption aspect of HB 6.
Host attorney Scott Pullins said the Supreme Court made the right decision because these plants lend a hand diversify energy sources.
“We need to maintain a sustainable energy policy,” Pullins said. “We need natural gas, we need coal, we need nuclear weapons.”
Turcer disagreed, saying the plants were ineffective and corrupt.
“We deserve to pay the bills we owe, not the ones we don’t,” she said.
Still, he’s glad he doesn’t have to pay for them.
What is the current media activity?
Utilities, despite being frequently in the news due to the HB 6 scandal, have consistently tried to raise prices for consumers.
According to the story we broke, AEP allegedly co-wrote legislation allowing utilities to have nuclear power, according to a leaked draft bill.
According to Republican lawmakers, following our reporting, AEP tried to work behind the scenes to create a more palatable version.
The company has repeatedly claimed it had to raise rates due to transmission costs.
However, according to the Energy & Policy Institute, AEP reported record profits in 2025, with CEO Bill Fehrman allegedly earning more than $36 million that same year.
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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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