With FirstEnergy Corp. and its former subsidiaries implicated in a public corruption scandal, market analysts are sharing varying degrees of concern for the economic toll two of Akron’s biggest employers could pay, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Racketeering charges against lobbyists and lawmakers, who allegedly took donations in exchange for a $1 billion energy bailout bill, all but named FirstEnergy and its former power-generation subsidiary FirstEnergy Solutions as the source of the cash. FirstEnergy Solutions is now Energy Harbor after emerging in February from chapter 11. Now two companies with headquarters in Akron and thousands of employees in multiple states, FirstEnergy Corp. and Energy Harbor say that they are reviewing the criminal complaint and cooperating with federal investigators. Neither will talk about the potential impact on business or investor confidence. Stock prices for both companies are off by a third since the scandal broke. Subpoenas announced for FirstEnergy followed the arrests of Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder, former GOP Chairman Matt Borges and three top statehouse lobbyists. The men and Generation Now, a dark money group that investigators believe Householder used to conceal FirstEnergy donations, are being charged with racketeering. Political backlash could be especially costly for Energy Harbor, which is depending on the controversial state bailout signed into law last year. Two Republicans and several Democrats said that they intend to claw back the subsidy.
