How FirstEnergy, one of America’s most corrupt utilities, secretly spent millions of dollars as it pursued a multi-billion-dollar federal bailout for its coal and nuclear plants during Donald Trump’s presidency, […] The post Subpoenaed records detail FirstEnergy’s secret political spending to influence then-President Donald Trump  appeared first on Energy and Policy Institute ..read more

The utility previously declined to reveal its contribution The post WEC Energy’s We Energies Foundation contributed $2 million to Republican National Convention appeared first on Energy and Policy Institute ..read more

Ariel Corporation chairman and her spouse have also opposed new solar farms in Ohio Gas industry megadonor couple Karen Buchwald Wright and Thomas Rastin together contributed at least $2.4 million […] The post Donald Trump and J.D. Vance PACs raked in millions from gas industry megadonors Karen Buchwald Wright and Thomas Rastin  appeared first on Energy and Policy Institute ..read more

Commissioner Kayla Hahn, Chair of the Missouri PSC, asked her former boss, Governor Mike Parson, to deny a proposed rule four years in the making because it required utilities to report disconnections at the zip code level. The post Missouri utility regulator urged Governor Parson to prevent detailed disconnection reporting appeared first on Energy and Policy Institute ..read more

Voters will decide on the three seats at the ACC this November The post Republican candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission position themselves in favor of utility rate increase, against clean energy standards appeared first on Energy and Policy Institute ..read more

While many Americans saw their energy bills go up substantially in the past year, investor-owned electric and gas utilities and the country’s largest publicly owned utility paid their CEOs over $647 million in 2023, an increase of 9 percent over 2022, an analysis by the Energy and Policy Institute has found. The CEOs for the 57 companies and the federally-run Tennessee Valley Authority reviewed for this analysis received more than $3 billion in total between 2019 and 2023. During this time, the same utilities disconnected millions of customers for being unable to pay their monthly bills. Top E ..read more

A new ad hoc coalition of electric utilities has sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its newly proposed rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal and new gas plants. The coalition, called the “Electric Generators for a Sensible Transition,” is represented by the same attorneys who represented a previous, seemingly similar ad hoc utility litigation coalition, the Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG), which disbanded amid Congressional oversight investigations in 2019.  “Electric Generators for a Sensible Transition” is the latest in a long line of ad hoc gr ..read more

A trio of Wisconsin utilities owned by WEC Energy Group is pushing to raise customers’ rates in concurrent proceedings that mark the first major tests for a state utility regulatory panel shaken up earlier this year when Republican lawmakers ousted Commissioner Tyler Huebner.  Republican legislators effectively fired Huebner in January when they refused to confirm his appointment to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC), though Huebner had served in the role for nearly four years prior. The obstructionist tactic – delaying and denying confirmation – is a repeat play for Wisconsin ..read more

FirstEnergy is proposing to refund $13.6 million to Pennsylvania customers who the company mischarged for payments related to the utility’s bribery schemes in Ohio, as well as advertising, lobbying, sports sponsorships and other expenses that are supposed to be excluded from the rates of publicly regulated utilities.  The utility is proposing the refund as part of a newly filed rate case in which FirstEnergy is also seeking to increase the rates paid by its Pennsylvania customers by $502 million, or nearly thirty-seven times the proposed refund. Most residential ratepayers would receive a ..read more

Over 2,000 people submitted comments to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) throughout Arizona Public Services’ (APS) rate case application, with many expressing frustration and anger with the utility’s proposed $460 million rate hike. But at least 16 groups that hold ties to APS, the state’s largest investor-owned electric utility — including charitable contributions from the utility, board positions, and memberships — submitted comments in support of the rate hike, according to an EPI review of the comments.  Hundreds of Arizonans asked the ACC to deny the rate hike. The ACC had al ..read more