FirstEnergy, the giant Ohio-based company that owns power plants and transmission lines in several midwestern and northeastern states, is running out of arguments for its proposed bailout.
The Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO), which is currently considering the proposal by FirstEnergy for substantial, customer-funded subsidies to bail out its uneconomic power plants, has suggested the utility must prove four points.
- Financial need
As we all know, need is different than want. And with a balance sheet showing $12.4 billion in shareholder equity, clearly the giant utility is able to keep these plants open. But FirstEnergy and its shareholders are reluctant to subsidize their own risk – instead, they want Ohio customers to take on the cost and associated risk. Strike one. Read More