A split Ohio Supreme Court has blocked a charge FirstEnergy customers have been paying since 2017, saying state regulators improperly allowed it to go forward. This charge cost customers as much as $200 million for each of those two years.
had argued the charge was to shore up credit so the utility could begin the very expensive grid modernization process.
Kimberly Bojko represented manufacturers, residential and commercial groups. She this rider is an "illegal corporate bailout" that customers will be forced to pay for "without any meaningful protections to ensure that their funds are ever used to modernize distribution infrastructure and not subsidize FirstEnergy鈥檚 parent company, FirstEnergy Corp.鈥�
, saying when the PUCO approved the rider, it didn鈥檛 put conditions on it.
It鈥檚 unclear whether customers who paid the charge will get their money refunded.
