“My mom taught me to say Thank You,” the CEO of a powerful Akron electric utility texted the state’s top regulator with a picture of the company’s rising stock price.
The CEO was Charles “Chuck” Jones, one of the most influential figures in Ohio energy policy. Jones led Akron-based Fortune 500 company FirstEnergy from 2015 until his firing in 2020. The electric utility serves more than 6 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.
Jones sent the text to Sam Randazzo, then-chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which regulates how utilities charge customers for electricity, natural gas and other services. Randazzo, a longtime utility attorney, died by suicide in April 2024 as he faced state and federal bribery charges. Randazzo maintained that he was innocent…