Pink Rose Society

Energy and Utilities in Ohio

Ohio's energy politics run through the largest corruption scandal in state history — the HB 6 / FirstEnergy bribery case — and its long, still-unfinished cleanup. Heading into the 2026 election, the accountability story overlaps a new pocketbook fight over who pays for a surging electric grid.

The HB 6 scandal

In 2019, a roughly $60 million bribery scheme by utility FirstEnergy — routed through a dark-money group that later pleaded guilty to federal racketeering — installed Larry Householder as House Speaker and passed House Bill 6, which handed the company an estimated $150 million a year in nuclear subsidies plus ratepayer subsidies for two aging coal plants. Householder was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison (June 2023); former Ohio GOP chair Matt Borges was convicted alongside him. FirstEnergy paid a $230 million federal penalty (2021) and $100 million to the SEC (2024). Former PUCO chair Sam Randazzo, accused of taking $4.3 million from the company, was indicted in 2023 and died before trial; his firm later pleaded guilty to 11 felonies.

The unfinished cleanup — HB 6 to HB 15

  • A 2021 law repealed HB 6's nuclear subsidy but left the coal-plant subsidies, which kept costing ratepayers about $445,000 a day.
  • House Bill 15 (2025), signed in May 2025, finally repealed the remaining coal subsidies, eliminated the "Electric Security Plan" riders utilities used to add charges, required rate cases every three years, and aimed to spur new in-state generation.
  • In November 2025 the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) ordered FirstEnergy's Ohio utilities to pay roughly $250 million in restitution and refunds for HB 6-era violations.

Who pays for the grid — data centers

Explosive data-center demand — AEP Ohio has cited more than 30,000 MW of interconnection inquiries — is reshaping the cost question. A PUCO-approved 2025 tariff makes large loads (over 25 MW) pay for at least 85% of their subscribed capacity on long-term contracts, an attempt to keep the buildout's cost off households. Whether that holds is a live regulatory fight.

Why it matters in 2026

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