Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine reversed his position and called for the repeal of the state’s controversial and newly tainted bailout of FirstEnergy Corp. nuclear plants. FirstEnergy stock prices also plummeted Wednesday and closed Thursday worth just two-thirds of their value the week before. Gov. Dewine said he still supports the bailout passed last July, but that “the process by which this bill was passed is simply not acceptable [and] has forever tainted the bill and now the law itself.” That law, the controversial House Bill 6, provided subsidies for FirstEnergy plants by adding an extra fee on Ohioans’ electricity bills while also slashing renewable energy and energy efficiency incentives. A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Ohio House and Senate who initially opposed House Bill 6 are working on legislation to remove it. Gov. Dewine also called for the resignation of Speaker Larry Householder. Householder, who allegedly orchestrated and personally benefited from the $60 million bribery scheme, has so far refused to resign. (Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Cincinnati Enquirer, Utility Dive, Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Enquirer, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, New York Times $, InsideClimate News; Bribery scandal timeline: Columbus Dispatch; US Attorney’s complaint: Dayton Daily News)

Update: Dewine signed a law repealing parts of HB6 relating to FirstEnergy on March 31, 2021. (Cleveland.com)