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In a press release the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) announce that in two separate orders, the Commission found FirstEnergy’s Ohio utilities—Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison—violated Ohio law, PUCO regulations, PUCO orders, and ordered the utilities to pay a combined $250.70 million in restitution to customers and civil forfeitures.

The utilities are ordered to return to customers, over three billing cycles, $179.99 million. In determining the amount to be returned, the Commission found the utilities liable for treble damages applied to the $59.996 million spent by FirstEnergy in furtherance of HB 6, as identified by the US Attorney’s deferred prosecution agreement.

The utilities will refund an additional $6.64 million plus interest for certain transactions that it billed to customers but lacked supporting documentation or were misallocated to customers, as identified by a 2021 PUCO audit.

The Opinion & Order adopts certain findings of the third-party auditors in these proceedings, and based upon the evidence in the record, finds it necessary to collectively order Ohio Edison Company, Specifically, the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, and The Toledo Edison Company to: (1) refund a total of $6,639,339 of money collected through the delivery capital recovery rider, with interest; (2) pay a forfeiture in the amount of $18,930,000 for the companies’ failure to disclose a side agreement, in accordance with R.C. 4928.145; (3) pay a forfeiture of $21,780,000 for a violation of Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-37-04(A)(3) related to a 2013 consulting agreement; (4) pay restitution, in the amount of $179,990,505, for the violation related to the failure to demonstrate compliance with Ohio Adm.Code 4901:1-37-04(A)(3) and (D)(6) by the apparent improper use of funds collected through the distribution modernization rider electronically filed by Debbie Ryan on behalf of Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

Civil Forfeitures
The Commission found the utilities violated Ohio’s corporate separation laws when it entered into a consulting agreement with Sustainability Funding Alliance in 2013, in which regulated utilities were allocated costs for a consulting agreement to benefit the unregulated generation affiliate. The Commission ordered the utility to pay a civil forfeiture of $21.78 million.

The Commission found the utilities violated disclosure laws when it failed to produce a side agreement with Industrial Energy Users – Ohio during a 2015 PUCO proceeding. The Commission ordered the utility to pay a civil forfeiture of $18.93 million.

Finally, the Commission found the utilities in violation of seven areas identified by a PUCO 2021 corporate separation audit, citing the lack of separation between regulated and unregulated affiliates, the lack of a chief compliance officer, and missing information in a cost allocation manual. The Commission ordered the utility to pay a civil forfeiture of $23.36 million and be subject to a corporate separation audit in the next three years. In its findings the Commission observed “this pattern of violations contributed to the conduct giving rise to the HB 6 scandal.”

The Commission observed that the companies have demonstrated significant changes to instill commitment to ongoing oversight and transparency. While the Commission agrees the new leadership is focused on changing FirstEnergy’s culture, the Commission will remain vigilant to ensure this newfound motivation renders results.

The Commission found the utilities violated Ohio’s corporate separation laws when it entered into a consulting agreement with Sustainability Funding Alliance in 2013, in which regulated utilities were allocated costs for a consulting agreement to benefit the unregulated generation affiliate. The Commission ordered the utility to pay a civil forfeiture of $21.78 million.

The Commission found the utilities violated disclosure laws when it failed to produce a side agreement with Industrial Energy Users – Ohio during a 2015 PUCO proceeding. The Commission ordered the utility to pay a civil forfeiture of $18.93 million.

Finally, the Commission found the utilities in violation of seven areas identified by a PUCO 2021 corporate separation audit, citing the lack of separation between regulated and unregulated affiliates, the lack of a chief compliance officer, and missing information in a cost allocation manual. The Commission ordered the utility to pay a civil forfeiture of $23.36 million and be subject to a corporate separation audit in the next three years. In its findings the Commission observed “this pattern of violations contributed to the conduct giving rise to the HB 6 scandal.”

Restitution
The Commission found the utilities failed to demonstrate they adhered to a 2016 Commission order authorizing it to collect a “distribution modernization rider” for the sole purposes of supporting the utilities’ efforts to modernize their distribution grids. The Commission further found the utilities used money, collected from customers from 2017-2019, to subsidize its unregulated generation affiliate in violation of Ohio law.

The utilities are ordered to return to customers, over three billing cycles, $179.99 million. In determining the amount to be returned, the Commission found the utilities liable for treble damages applied to the $59.996 million spent by FirstEnergy in furtherance of HB 6, as identified by the US Attorney’s deferred prosecution agreement.

The utilities will refund an additional $6.64 million plus interest for certain transactions that it billed to customers but lacked supporting documentation or were misallocated to customers, as identified by a 2021 PUCO audit.

The utilities must file restitution calculations with the PUCO by Nov. 26, 2025, and begin issuing them in the following billing cycle.

Opinion and Order (11/19/2025)
PUCO Commissioner Statements  (11/19/2025)
Summary Chart 
Cases: 17974-EL-RDR,  17-2474-EL-RDR, and 20-1629-EL-RDR.