An arm of FirstEnergy Corp. was “bleeding cash” as it explored options for the two aging nuclear plants eventually rescued by Ohio House legislation that federal prosecutors say former Speaker Larry Householder championed in exchange for corporate bribes, a utility executive testified Tuesday.
Steven Staub, the company's vice president and treasurer, told jurors on the second day of Householder's corruption trial that power prices had gotten so low in the years leading up to the bill's passage in 2019 that the Davis-Besse and Perry power plants in northern Ohio couldn't cover costs, let alone make a profit.
