Lawsuit targets nuclear bailout fees

BENTON TWP. — Columbus and Cincinnati filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block the collection of new fees to support Ohio's two nuclear power plants, including Davis-Besse in Oak Harbor. The lawsuit, filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, targets the fees that are scheduled to be placed on utility bills starting Jan. 1 by House Bill 6, a state law that provided revenue to keep Ohio's nuclear power plants going. Federal prosecutors have filed charges against former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four other people, including former Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges, as part of an alleged $60 million bribery scheme, allegedly funded by FirstEnergy, to get House Bill 6 through the Ohio General Assembly. Columbus and Cincinnati officials say in their lawsuit that the court action is necessary because lawmakers have failed to repeal House Bill 6, despite the bribery allegations. It says unless the court takes action, more than $900 million in new fees will be added to utility bills. The lawsuit claims the timing of the new fees "could not be worse." "Adding these new fees to Ohioans' utility bills is unfair, unjust, unethical and irresponsible, especially given that the country is in the midst of a pandemic, and, even more than that, winter is coming," the lawsuit says. "Failure to protect ratepayers from these new fees — fees that the state of Ohio has already admitted are illegal and would not be imposed but for fraud and corruption — will further put hundreds of thousands of Ohio's most vulnerable households at risk of delinquency and disconnections." The two cities are named as the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Named as defendants are FirstEnergy Corp., the former owner of the two nuclear plants, now owned by Energy Harbor; Sam Randazzo, chairman of the Ohio Public Utilities Commission, and state treasurer Robert Sprague. The lawsuit also asks for it to be served on Attorney General Dave Yost, who in September filed a lawsuit, also in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, seeking to block the payment of money to aid the two nuclear power plants. "Ohio laws should not be built on the basis of fraud, deceit and intimidation," Yost said in announcing his lawsuit. "Given the corruption surrounding House Bill 6, it is proper to block these ill-gotten gains from filling the coffers of those under criminal indictment." The new lawsuit says Yost's suit does not adequately deal with the situation, because while it tries to keep the money from being doled out to help the nuclear power plants, it does not stop the new utility bill fees from being collected. "The next step will likely be to consolidate the case with the Ohio attorney general's lawsuit so that everything is proceeding before the same judge," said Andrew Garth, Cincinnati's interim solicitor. "Cincinnati and Columbus will file a motion for a preliminary injunction within the next 10 days." Garth also told the Register why the suit doesn't name Energy Harbor, Davis-Besse's current owner. "First Energy is named defendant because it is the entity alleged to have engaged in the corrupt enterprise with Larry Householder and other state legislators. At the preliminary injunction stage, it is not necessary to name other corporate entities to demonstrate the harm and the need for immediate relief. Ohio requires us to name the PUCO and treasurer in order to prevent the collection of the unlawful tax," Garth wrote in an email. Yost said Tuesday he welcomes the new lawsuit but also said it's important to proceed carefully. "Every person is a welcome ally in the fight to eradicate the fruit of this poisonous tree," he said. "But let's be careful not to kill other things in the process—unintended consequences are still consequences." A FirstEnergy spokeswoman, Jennifer Young, said her company cannot comment yet. "FirstEnergy has not yet been served and would need to review the complaint prior to commenting," Young said. State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, has defended House Bill 6 and says there is no need to repeal it, a move that she says would jeopardize hundreds of good-paying jobs at Davis-Besse. Gavarone contends that the bill actually saves ratepayers money because it eliminated other fees and says it makes little sense to repeal the law, which she said was heavily amended in the Senate after the House passed it. "Thousands of jobs, millions in school funding and emergency services, and 90% of Ohio's carbon-free energy are at stake," Gavarone said in a memo sent out a few weeks ago to members of the Senate. "So far, proponents of repealing HB 6, which consists almost entirely of people who opposed HB 6 during the committee process, have not made a good, non-political argument as to why we should be ruining the lives of thousands of Ohio's families, disrupting the energy grid, and destroying clean energy in Ohio," she wrote.