Residents in Ohio will see lower electric bills thanks to a new settlement with FirstEnergy Corp. After several years of legal battles and investigations over a corruption scandal, Ohio’s utility regulators have approved a historic agreement.
This means millions of dollars will be returned to customers.
Why Is FirstEnergy Paying?
FirstEnergy has agreed to pay $249 million as a result of wrongdoing related to House Bill 6—a law passed with the help of bribery.
The company used illegal payments to influence politicians to pass legislation that would benefit FirstEnergy, especially with financial help for struggling nuclear plants.
How Will You Get the Refund?
Customers will not get a check in the mail. Instead, the refund will appear as credits on electric bills over three months. The exact amount will depend on your electric company and how much energy you use. For example:
- If you use about 1,000 kilowatt hours per month, you’ll get around $65.61 total over three months.
- Toledo Edison customers will see their bills drop by about $17.81 each month for three months.
- Ohio Edison customers will get about $13.27 off each month.
- The Illuminating Company customers will see a smaller decrease of $1.02 per month.
In addition to customer refunds, $20 million from the settlement will go towards helping low-income households, energy-saving programs, and projects to help people use less electricity in the future.
Why Is This Settlement Important?
This deal is meant to hold FirstEnergy accountable for breaking the law and manipulating state officials.
Maureen Willis, head of the Ohio Office of Consumer Counsel, said the settlement is important because it puts consumers first and enforces the law. She said, “Accountability matters. The law matters. Consumers come first.”
In summary, because of this settlement, most FirstEnergy customers in Ohio will see lower electric bills over the next few months as a result of past corporate wrongdoing.
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