COLUMBUS – Both Republican and Democratic members of the Ohio House on Thursday urged the repeal and replacement of a nuclear plant bailout law. The law is at the center of a $60 million federal bribery probe and which led to the ouster of the former GOP House speaker.
Newly elected House Speaker Bob Cupp created the House Select Committee on Energy Policy and Oversight to consider proposals to repeal House Bill 6 and revive the law it replaced.
Democrats, who have seen their efforts to quickly repeal H.B. 6 stymied by majority Republicans have called the panel “an unnecessary stall tactic.”
Federal prosecutors in July accused former speaker Rep. Larry Householder and four others of shepherding energy company money to efforts to pass the legislation.
Meanwhile, Ohio’s consumer watchdog wants a regulatory agency to investigate whether the state’s largest electric utility used customer money to fund the bribery scheme.
The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel late Tuesday asked the Public Utility Commission of Ohio to seek an independent investigation to determine whether FirstEnergy Corp. violated any state laws or regulations.
Federal officials say FirstEnergy spent the $60 million to help win passage of a $1 billion customer-funded bailout for two financially struggling Ohio nuclear plants owned by a FirstEnergy subsidiary until early this year.