Bricker attorneys successfully prosecuted an appeal to the Supreme Court of Ohio against FirstEnergy Advisors. FirstEnergy Advisors is an affiliate of FirstEnergy Corp’s Ohio electric distribution utilities: Ohio Edison Company, The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company and The Toledo Edison Company. In January 2020, FirstEnergy Advisors filed an application with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (“PUCO”) to be certified as a competitive retail electric power broker and aggregator. Ohio’s electric utility corporate separation rules are meant to ensure that FirstEnergy Advisors does not gain a competitive advantage over other market participants by reason of its affiliation with the monopoly utilities. Bricker attorneys argued, on behalf of the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (“NOPEC”), that the PUCO unlawfully granted FirstEnergy Advisors authority to provide the requested services in this state. In a unanimous opinion issue October 14, 2021, the Supreme Court agreed, finding that the PUCO’s orders did not establish that FirstEnergy Advisors was fit and capable of providing service; or, that it was fit and capable of complying with the PUCO’s rules, including rules that require FirstEnergy Advisors to be structurally separated from its utility affiliates. The Supreme Court reversed the PUCO’s decision to certify FirstEnergy Advisors on the merits, and remanded the case for further proceedings. NOPEC is the largest public retail aggregation in Ohio serving about 1 million retail electric and natural gas customers in 244 member communities across 19 Ohio counties. For more, read the decision. 

The Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) is the largest public retail energy aggregation in Ohio, serving about 900,000 electric and gas customers across 14 counties. NOPEC’s electric supplier abruptly notified NOPEC that it was terminating its contract, thus leaving NOPEC’s nearly half-million electric customers to return to utility service at higher rates. Bricker attorneys sprang into action to prevent NOPEC's customers from paying these increased rates. The team negotiated a new complex electricity supply contract with NOPEC's replacement supplier (worth approximately $1 billion); and, within 10 days, our client had signed a new three-year contract. With our assistance, NOPEC obtained two waivers from the PUCO to meet the expedited enrollment timeline. Meanwhile, within two weeks, our litigation team settled a TRO and injunction case involving the original supplier, which resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement payment to NOPEC. In addition, our energy litigation team dissolved an ex parte TRO issued against NOPEC to a competitor regarding the NOPEC customer enrollment process. We also obtained a complete dismissal of the competitor’s lawsuit on the basis that the PUCO had exclusive jurisdiction over the matter.  

Negotiated affinity agreement and electricity procurement for an affinity group of commercial customers totaling up to approximately 800 MW.

Assisted four developers of combined cycle power plants in successfully siting generation facilities in Ohio totaling approximately 2400 MW. Assisted three wind farm developers in siting approximately 1600 MW of electric generation in Ohio.

Assisted three entities in siting natural gas pipeline in Ohio.

Represented the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) in multi-year regulatory litigation opposing an energy company’s proposed affiliate power purchase agreement and subsequent distribution modernization rider in an electric security plan valued at over $1 billion.  Successfully appealed the PUCO’s approval of the distribution modernization rider to the Ohio Supreme Court, which order the rider immediately removed from the energy company’s electric security plan.

Represented the largest governmental retail energy aggregator in the country in a utility regulatory litigation matter valued at over $1 billion opposing an energy company's electric security plan, which involved a novel regulatory proposal permitting affiliate power purchase agreements.