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FirstEnergy Nuclear Plant Subsidy Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: A judge certified a class action lawsuit lobbed against FirstEnergy Corp by Ohio residents.
- Why: Ohio residents claim they were unlawfully overcharged on their monthly electric bills to help subsidize the state’s failing nuclear power plants, including a $60 million bribery scheme.
- Where: The class action lawsuit is pending in Ohio federal court.
A federal judge has certified a Class of Ohio residents who claim they were overcharged on their monthly FirstEnergy electricity bills to help subsidize the state’s failing nuclear plants.
Ohio residents filed a class action lawsuit against the electric utility FirstEnergy Corp over the monthly surcharge, which was put in place by a state law designed to help bail out the Perry and David-Besse nuclear power plants, reports Reuters.
The state law, called House Bill 6, sought to provide $1 billion in relief to subsidize the plants.
Lead plaintiff Jacob Smith was the first to file a complaint, alleging he was being wrongly charged to help the nuclear power plants—which are owned by a former FirstEnergy Corp subsidiary—survive, reports Reuters.
Two separate class action lawsuits accusing FirstEnergy of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) were later filed and eventually consolidated with Smith’s.
FirstEnergy Bribed Lawmakers to Pass Law Propping Plants, Claim Class Actions
The First Energy class action claims revolve around $60 million in bribes which allegedly occurred to help secure the passage of the law increasing residents’ electric bills, reports Reuters.
Larry Householder, Ohio’s former house speaker, was federally charged last year in connection with the alleged bribes. He has pleaded not guilty.
Smith claims that the bribes originated from FirstEnergy Corp and one of its subsidiaries, reports Reuters.
The law was overturned in March by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in March, while FirstEnergy has agreed to pay $230 million to settle charges it paid millions in bribes to help get it passed.
FirstEnergy Corp’s attempt to block the class action lawsuit was denied by a federal judge in February.
Were you overcharged on your electric bill to help subsidize the Perry and David-Besse nuclear power plants? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Margaret Murray, William Bartle, and Dennis Murray of Murray & Murray, and Richard Kerger of The Kerger Law Firm.
The FirstEnergy Nuclear Plant Subsidy Class Action Lawsuit is Smith, et al. v. First Energy Corp., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-3755, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
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13 thoughts onFirstEnergy Class Action Alleging Ohio Residents Face High Electric Bills, Propping Nuclear Plants Certified
I have been paying all my monthly bills in full there was NO BALANCE TO CARRY OVER. THEY ASK FOR 73$ A MONTH I PAID 225$ THE BALANCE WAS ZERO!!000000! NOW I HAVE A $440 BILL WHEN I QUESTIONED THIS WHEN I CALLED I WAS TRANSFERRED AT LEAST 3X AND THEN DISCONNECTED. THE OPERATOR WAS SPEECHLESS – THEN FUMBLING HER WORDS. IM CONTACTING THE UTILITY SERVICE COMMISSION THIS IS RIDICULOUS I REFUSE TO FEED THEIR LIES
I was over charged for services
I am currently going back and forth with Ohio Edison regarding an unethical assignment of a third party service provider which resulted in my having a $744 balance when I asked them to remove that third party provider. They evidently sent out letters stating that you would be added to this service provider if you didn’t opt out. The only problem is, I never received a letter and so, I was unaware that I’d been added to this service provider. I’d been asking Ohio Edison for a year to put me on a payment plan and all the while they were doing so with this third party provider who was charging me double what OE would have charged. When I became aware of the third party provider, I asked to cancel and I was then smacked with a $744 bill! Now, they will not remove the charges that were incurred as a part of an “agreement” that I never made. They should not be permitted to collect that much money when the charges wouldn’t have been so high if I’d been dealing with them as I thought I was. This was unethical and should be illegal. I need help! So, please add me to a class action suit if that is still possible. Thanks!