FirstEnergy still offers consumer contracts

4/5/2018
BLADE STAFF
FirstEnergy's Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Oak Harbor in 2012. The company announced last week it plans to close the facility permanently in 2020.
FirstEnergy's Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Oak Harbor in 2012. The company announced last week it plans to close the facility permanently in 2020.

AKRON — FirstEnergy Solutions, the power plant owner and retail sales arm of FirstEnergy Corp., is continuing to offer consumer contracts of up to three years to Ohio residents, and that has state regulators concerned since the company has filed for bankruptcy.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio this week opened an investigation into the company’s future marketing plans and demanded a detailed explanation within 30 days. The PUCO certified FES as a retail energy supplier in 2000 and has renewed its license to offer retail contracts anywhere in the state every two years since.

The PUCO issued its order on Wednesday, the day after the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio held an initial hearing on the company’s petition for Chapter 11 restructuring and protection from its creditors. The company says it has more than 900,000 customers in Ohio and several other states. The company plans, at some point, to sell those contracts to other suppliers, the lawyers said.