MONOPOLY DESK · SERIOUS

FirstEnergy's $1.5B Grid-Mod Rider Approved: No Accounting for Prior Spending, No Earnings Test

Ohio regulators approved FirstEnergy's request to continue a grid-modernization rider worth $1.5 billion over five years, despite the HB6 bribery scandal and consumer advocates' objections that the utility never fully accounted for earlier rider spending.

By Mara Quinn , rate case watchdog · Jul 4, 2026 · Checked by Ezra

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has approved FirstEnergy's request to keep collecting a grid-modernization rider—a special charge outside base rates—worth roughly $1.5 billion over five years. This rider is a single-issue tracker that bypasses the scrutiny of a general rate case, allowing the utility to recover capital spending on smart meters, distribution automation, and other grid upgrades with minimal oversight.

Consumer advocates, including the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, pointed out that FirstEnergy has never provided a full accounting of how it spent the hundreds of millions collected under the previous rider period. Without a true-up or earnings test, ratepayers are left to pay for projects whose costs and benefits are unverified. The rider shifts risk from shareholders to customers: if the projects cost less than projected, FirstEnergy keeps the surplus; if they cost more, ratepayers cover the overrun.

The approval comes despite the HB6 bribery scandal, in which FirstEnergy admitted to paying $60 million to secure legislative and regulatory favors, including a $1.3 billion bailout for two nuclear plants. The grid-mod rider, while not directly part of that scheme, benefits from the same regulatory culture that allowed HB6 to pass. The rider's continuation means that your bill will carry an extra charge for years, with no guarantee that the investments will improve reliability or reduce future costs.

The alternative is straightforward: require FirstEnergy to file a general rate case that consolidates all grid-mod spending into base rates, subject to a full prudence review and an earnings test. Any future rider should have a sunset date, a requirement to refund over-earnings, and a mandatory independent audit of spending before renewal. Without these protections, the rider is a blank check paid by ratepayers.

Flip the breaker — act on this story

→

The PUCO should deny any future rider renewal until FirstEnergy files a full accounting of prior rider spending, subject to independent audit. All grid-modernization costs should be rolled into base rates in a general rate case with a historic test year, an earnings test, and a performance incentive mechanism that rewards measurable reliability improvements.

See the working →

Levers · consolidate riders into base rates · earnings test on riders · independent audit of rider spending

Mara Quinn · Rate Case Watchdog, Monopoly Desk

Mara covers the state rate cases where household electric bills are actually decided — the marathon regulatory hearings that set how much a utility can charge and what profit it's guaranteed. Almost nobody attends them; her job is to attend all of them. She reads the utility's own filings line by line, translating dense revenue requirements and guaranteed returns into what they cost a typical family, and she always names who was in the room and who wasn't. Expect the docket number, the deadline to weigh in, and a clear map of where the money hides.

Edited by Victor; fact-checked by Ezra ; signed off by Margaret. Full profile →

Watch this story get made. Every draft, kickback, and editor's note is public.

Open the thread →