As policymakers at all levels of government grapple with the global energy crunch and look for ways to transition to a lower-carbon energy grid, they need to focus on market-based solutions.
We’ve already seen that competition is the best way to achieve the energy future that customers want – one that fosters innovation, combats climate change, promotes reliability, and drives down prices. Competitive markets – not monopolies – should be the path forward.
The Biden administration’s ambitious goal of running America’s economy on 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035 is accelerating the shift to renewable energy and sparking a debate among policymakers over how best to encourage the clean energy transition without having costs fall entirely on consumers.
While the war of words between the fossil fuel and renewables camps has garnered the lion’s share of the attention, less has been paid to the importance of modernizing transmission infrastructure and the role of competition in incentivizing investment in a cleaner, more efficient and affordable power system.
Ohio’s elections chief has filed a complaint with the state Elections Commission accusing former House Speaker Larry Householder of campaign violations.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s complaint alleges his fellow Republican, Rep. Larry Householder (R-Glenford), received $32,000 in excess or improper campaign donations. That includes $1,000 from Juan Cespedes, a lobbyist for FirstEnergy Solutions who has pleaded guilty in a $61-million-dollar bribery case connected to Ohio’s nuclear bailout law. Householder has pleaded not guilty to charges in that alleged bribery scheme. Four other unnamed donors were also part of this complaint for exceeding campaign finance limits.
This isn't the first time LaRose has filed an elections complaint against Householder. Last summer, LaRose filed 162 campaign-finance charges against Householder, Cespedes, lobbyist Neil Clark and former Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges - who are all also charged in that case.
FirstEnergy and FirstEnergy Solutions donated more than $1 million to nonprofit groups and political campaigns since 2017 to help elect Gov. Mike DeWine, according to a Dayton Daily News investigation into Ohio’s HB 6. In July, federal prosecutors charged former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four others with racketeering, alleging they ran a nearly $61 million bribery scheme using undisclosed political money to position Householder as speaker and then pass and defend a $1.3 billion bailout law. While FirstEnergy and FirstEnergy Solutions aren’t specifically named in court documents, the descriptions identify those companies as alleged participants in the scheme and the utility has said it is working with investigators.
Arizona lawmakers are trying to strip the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) of its authority to require investor-owned utilities to generate a portion of the state’s power with renewable energy. House Bill 2248 and its Senate companion would bar the commission from adopting or enforcing any new policy, decision or rule that regulates the electric generation resources without specific legislative authorization. And the measure, sponsored by Rep. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford, provides no such authority.
