Smith Condemns Yost's Deal with FirstEnergy

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) publicly criticized the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for the deal made this week with FirstEnergy, the company embroiled in corruption charges including the infamous House Bill 6 scandal. The deal allows FirstEnergy to avoid further state criminal prosecution in exchange for a $20 million fine.

“Twenty million dollars is a paltry sum,” said Smith. “It doesn’t even rise to the level of a slap on the wrist and is a woefully inadequate repayment for what FirstEnergy has taken from Ohio customers. This amount is too small, and worse, it is being completely misallocated.”

FirstEnergy has been under criminal investigation for bribes given to the former chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and the former Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. A consultant for FirstEnergy estimated that the company could face up to $3.8 billion in fines, a far cry from the current settlement. FirstEnergy’s profits for 2023 totaled $1.1 billion – meaning the $20 million fine represents less than 2% of FirstEnergy’s annual profit for last year alone.

The news of the deal comes as northeast Ohioans continue to grapple with the impacts of the August 6 storm, which led to widespread power outages across greater Cleveland for 400,000 utility customers.

According to the negotiated agreement, the amount fined from FirstEnergy will be first used to reimburse the cost of the investigation, and then the remainder is to be given to a charity of Yost’s choice.

“It would be more appropriate for the FirstEnergy fine to cover the expenses their customers incurred as a result of the August 6 storm,” said Smith. “Three days after the storm, 200,000 customers were still without power. The funds would be better spent helping people who now have damaged houses, spoiled food, and crushed cars. Any money left over should be used to make the NE Ohio electric grid more resilient.”

Senator Smith has called for the Attorney General’s office to renegotiate and reallocate the previously agreed-upon funds. Read his full letter here.