For all of the investigations swirling around the 2019 enactment of House Bill 6 by the Ohio General Assembly, a lack of official scrutiny for the legislation’s primary beneficiary has been confounding. 

Now, it appears at least two government agencies are taking a look at Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp., which, with its affiliates, is believed to have been the major source of $61 million in dark money contributions that federal investigators allege were made to secure the $1.3 billion utility company bailout engineered in HB 6.

Two nuclear power plants whose future is tied to the legislation were owned by a FirstEnergy subsidiary, FirstEnergy Solutions, which is now called Energy Harbor. The Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Ottawa County and the Perry plant in Lake County are to receive subsidies beginning next year, courtesy of electric utility customers throughout Ohio who will be required to pay new fees