Anyone who opposes FirstEnergy’s plea for a protective order to block deposition of a company executive by an Ohio state government watchdog have until Nov. 2 to speak up, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio attorney examiner Gregory Price ruled Tuesday.
FirstEnergy filed for the protective order last week. The company wants to block the production of documents and deposition of Santino Fanelli, its director of the rates and regulatory affairs department, by the Ohio Consumers Council (OCC).
The OCC is asking FirstEnergy and its affiliates to produce documents outlining all the political spending and charitable donations the company has ever made to Generation Now, the dark money fund the company allegedly used to funnel money to former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder during his 2018 run for the Ohio House of Representatives.
The consumers’ council is also asking the company to produce documents outlining, in detail, all political spending and charitable contributions the firm and its affiliates have made since January 2017, all the spending it has made regarding House Bill 6 activities, and more.
The OCC made the request via an intervention in a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) investigation into whether Ohio ratepayers subsidized any part of the company’s political spending and charitable contributions to House Bill 6.
PUCO launched the investigation into whether FirstEnergy’s lobbying hit ratepayers’ bills on Sep. 15. The OCC is pushing for the commission to inspect more than just ratepayer impact, arguing in filings that PUCO’s current investigation isn’t enough and will allow the utility companies to continue to conduct activities outside of ratepayers’ interests.
