Opinion: PUCO lets fox crash the hen house. FirstEnergy scandal one reason commissioners must go

Tristan Rader is the Ohio program director for Solar United Neighbors and is a member of Lakewood City Council.  

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has a long tradition of letting foxes guard the hen house.

This body is responsible for regulating the state's utilities. It sets the energy rates you see on your bill. It ensures that utilities make proper investments to provide reliable service and prevent life-threatening power outages.

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Sadly, the people chosen to serve on this important body routinely come from the utility industry, the very industry they are responsible for regulating. This is the definition of a conflict of interest.

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This perverse relationship between the regulator and the regulated has allowed big gas and electric utilities to write rules that suit them and their shareholders over the interests of paying utility customers.

And while PUCO is supposed to be the voice of reason keeping big utilities in check, it’s obvious commisioners are failing.

One need look no further than the House Bill 6 scandal, with the trial of Larry Householder beginning within the week.

These five commissioners are appointed directly by Ohio's governor, Mike Dewine. Despite promises to appoint commissioners with no connection to utilities, DeWine has continued to maintain the unjust status quo.

With the big utilities in control of PUCO, you can guarantee lower reliability and higher rates for consumers and our business community.

In 2019, Dewine appointed FirstEnergy lobbyist Sam Randazzo as the commission's chief.

The following year, Randazzo resigned in disgrace after law enforcement raided his home in connection with the $61 million House Bill 6 bribery scandal.

FirstEnergy later admitted to paying Randazo $4.3 million in bribes in exchange for favorable treatment. Even then, in 2020, DeWine re-appointed former Columbia Gas and ISG Energy executive Lawrence Friedman to the commission.

And in 2022, DeWine yet again reaffirmed his bias to the utility industry, re-appointing Dan Conway, who represented Columbia Gas, American Electric Power, and Monongahela Power Company.

The good news; there is an opportunity to change course. Gov. DeWine must appoint another seat on the commission this year.

Ohioans deserve commissioners who will protect the interests of the public, focus on transparency, hold utilities accountable, and keep energy costs down rather than lining their pockets with utility money.

Corruption, facilitated by the utility-controlled PUCO, has cost Ohio taxpayers billions of dollars with the controversial passage of House Bill 6’s nuclear and coal bailout bill. We deserve an independent commission that will fight for Ohioans and treat every issue that comes before them with impartiality.

That’s why the governor should appoint State Rep. Mike Skindell or former State Rep. Jeff Crossman.

Both are consumer-focused attorneys with experience serving on the Ohio Power Siting Board and the General Assembly Public Utilities Committees.

Before being elected to the Ohio Legislature, Skindell worked as an assistant Ohio attorney general and later served on the Ohio House and Senate Government Oversight Committees.

Crossman ran for Ohio attorney general in 2022 on a platform of anti-corruption and government reform.

Both have been strong and sober critics of utility corruption and corporate welfare while offering thoughtful solutions to help reduce the cost of utilities in Ohio. Each would embrace progressive energy policies and instill a focus on consumer fairness and environmental justice.

Change is overdue at PUCO. It is time for the people entrusted with the responsibility and power to oversee our essential gas and electric utilities systems to put Ohioans over utility profits.

DeWine should keep his promise and appoint someone like Skindell or Crossman to the vacancy on the Public Utility Commission.

Tristan Rader is the Ohio program director for Solar United Neighbors and is a member of Lakewood City Council.  

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Tristan Rader: Who should be the next PUCO commissioners