An auditor hired by the West Virginia Public Service Commission to look into two electric companies owned by FirstEnergy found evidence of wrongdoing, but it's not clear whether the companies actually overspent on lobbying, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
According to the Rhode Island-based Van Reen Accounting firm's report, more than $871,000 in costs associated with Ohio House Bill 6 were mischarged to MonPower and Potomac Edison's expense and capital accounts between 2014 and 2020.
Van Reen says attorney-client privilege prevented it from examining the companies' lobbying and building costs associated with HB 6, which was a bill that charged Ohio ratepayers to keep two nuclear plants operating.
FirstEnergy, which was charged with federal wire fraud, agreed to a settlement and $230 million penalty and a three-year deferred prosecution agreement.
Other investigations and lawsuits against FirstEnergy are pending.
FirstEnergy was accused of spending more than $60 million between 2018 and 2020 funneling the money through Generation Now, a nonprofit controlled by former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others.
Later, funds from the nonprofit were used to bribe ballot initiative signature collectors to stop collecting signatures to reverse House Bill 6, a bill that charges Ohio ratepayers to keep the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants operating.
Householder, former Ohio Read the Entire Article
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Social entrepreneur Virginia de Villa seeks to improve the agricultural sector through her social enterprise, Real Cacao.