Tag: Coal Bailout

Federal PAC Donations Show Ohio Valley Lawmakers Raked In Thousands From FirstEnergy

Lawmakers from across the Ohio Valley have received nearly half a million dollars in campaign contributions from 2019-2020 from a political action committee associated with FirstEnergy Corp., the electric utility implicated in a $61 million bribery and racketeering scheme related to Ohio’s controversial energy bill that bailed out several struggling nuclear and coal plants. 

 

FirstEnergy’s PAC donated $484,490 to elected officials  in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. The elected officials came from both parties and encompassed a vast range of political offices — from the U.S. Senate and House to statehouses and even state auditors offices — according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission documents compiled by HEATED, a climate-focused newsletter written by journalist Emily Atkin. 

 

Last month’s revelation by federal prosecutors that the Ohio-based company funneled millions of dollars of dark money into a group, Generation Now, controlled by former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and his political allies, pulled back the curtain on the outsized political influence wielded by the utility, which is one of the largest in the country. 

For example, recent reporting by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, found a highly-connected attorney with deep ties in Kentucky Republican politics is linked to the Ohio case. Former Kentucky Republican Party General Counsel Eric Lycan is listed as the treasurer of Generation Now. Lycan is connected to several PACs and tax-exempt organizations in Kentucky and West Virginia. 

While the investigation is ongoing and continues to unearth connections between the utility, coal company Murray Energy and lawmakers, contributions made by FirstEnergy’s PAC during the 2019-2020 campaign cycle offer a window into the company’s priorities. 

Six U.S. Senators from West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania received campaign contributions from FirstEnergy’s PAC totaling $24,500. 

The Country Roads PAC, associated with Sen. Manchin, and Wild and Wonderful PAC, associated with Sen. Capito, each received $5,000 in contributions from FirstEnergy’s PAC, records show. 

West Virginia’s three U.S. House representatives — Republicans David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Carol Miller — each received $7,500 in campaign donations this election cycle. In addition, 21 Republican House candidates and six Democrats from Ohio and Pennsylvania also received campaign contributions. 

Every member of Ohio and West Virginia’s U.S. Congressional delegation took political contributions. 

Dozens of lawmakers in West Virginia also received donations from the utility’s federal PAC, including 45 members of the statehouse, Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Chief Justice Tim Armstead, Secretary of State Mac Warner and State Auditor J.B. McCuskey.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was the sole governor to have received money from the utility’s PAC. Justice, a Republican, received $2,800, records show. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, also a Republican, received $4,800. The Morrisey 2020 PAC received $2,800. 

Money Returned

Some regional energy policy watchers argue the exposure of this dark money scandal should serve as a wake up call for lawmakers in states where FirstEnergy does business, including West Virginia. The company operates two coal-fired power plants in West Virginia — the Fort Martin Power Station and Harrison Power Station.

Its former subsidiary, FirstEnergy Solutions, which emerged from bankruptcy restructuring as Energy Harbor in February, is the largest beneficiary of H.B. 6. The company operates two nuclear plants in Ohio, one in Pennsylvania, and two coal plants — the W.H. Sammis plant in Stratton, Ohio and the Pleasants Power Station in West Virginia.

Last summer, the West Virginia Legislature gave the Pleasants Power Station a $12.5 million tax break during a hasty special session.

The Ohio Valley ReSource reached out to many of the politicians who received campaign contributions from FirstEnergy’s PAC asking if the officeholder was concerned about undue influence from the utility and if they had or would consider returning the money 

Only Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown’s campaign explicitly said the lawmaker had taken steps to distance himself from the donation. Brown’s team said the senator donated FirstEnergy’s contributions to local Ohio charities including food banks and YWCAs. 

 

FERC Nominee Faces Tough Questions About Role in Trump Coal Bailout Plan

The Trump administration’s nominee for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission faced tough questions from lawmakers Thursday. It was over whether the longtime energy lawyer could impartially serve at the agency after helping the administration craft its coal and nuclear power plant bailout plan.

Senators grilled Bernard McNamee, who served most-recently as executive director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Policy, over his involvement with the Energy Department’s policy to help struggling coal and nuclear power plants.

In one exchange, a fiery Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) pressed McNamee on his ability to be impartial.

“You played a key role in developing the legal underpinnings of a Trump energy bailout that was so flawed every member of the Federal Energy Commission rejected it,” Wyden said. “Now the President wants to put you on the commission that rejected the plan you wrote. This is not like having the fox guard the chicken coop, this is like putting the fox inside the chicken coop.”

McNamee told Wyden and others on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee he could separate his work at both the Energy Department on the coal plan with the independent nature and impartiality required at FERC.

The independent agency regulates the sale and transmission of electricity as well as interstate oil and natural gas pipelines.

“As to the issue, I think ultimately [it] is whether I would be an independent arbiter and be able to look at the facts and the law and make an independent choice,” he said. “I have no doubt that I can do that and that it won’t be influenced by politics.”

FERC in January ultimately rejected the Energy Department’s bailout policy in a unanimous vote. The administration has continued to work on a plan to prop up struggling utilities.

McNamee said he believed FERC’s role in the country’s energy markets should be resource-neutral.

“I think the primary thing for FERC is to make sure that they’re not picking and choosing what the resources should be, but ensuring that the markets are able function so resources can compete and that the market decides what’s the right resource,” he said.

But despite his even-keeled testimony, some Senators continued to express concern, especially after McNamee refused to commit to recusing himself if another coal bailout plan crossed FERC’s desk. Instead, he said he would seek the advice of the agency’s ethics counsel.

Sen. Angus King, an Independent from Maine, was one lawmaker who seemed to find that reasoning unacceptable.

“I don’t understand any argument where you would need to consult any counsel anywhere on earth to understand if you have a conflict of interest when it comes to this issue of the so-called grid resilience or price rule or any version thereof,” King said.

McNamee has a long history of working on energy issues, both in the private and public sectors. He worked as an energy policy advisor for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and as a lawyer at a Virginia-based law firm where he represented a variety of energy interests from solar to oil and gas.

This year, McNamee worked at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank that advocates for fossil fuels and has ties to the Koch brothers and American Legislative Exchange Council.

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