Columbus-based American Electric Power is cooperating with an investigation from the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission for its role in the nuclear bailout bribery scandal.
AEP said in its latest financial filing for the third quarter that it is cooperating with an ongoing investigation into the scandal-plaqued House Bill 6 that bailed out two FirstEnergy nuclear power plants and other energy companies with $1.3 billion. The company said it received two subpoenas from the SEC since 2021 related to this.
The Columbus Dispatch found in a 2020 investigation that the AEP contributed $350,000 to a dark money group called Empowering Ohio's Economy that helped push for the bill's passage and was later part of the criminal case against former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder.
Investigations into the corruption scandal are ongoing and have already resulted in the convictions of Householder and former Ohio Republican Party chairman and lobbyist Matt Borges.
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The company said a potential resolution to the investigation is possible but any outcome could still result in penalties and other remedial measures against AEP. The company said it doesn't expect any significant impact on the company's operations, cash flows or financial condition.
The company made no mention of the litigation in its 3rd quarter earnings call with investors and declined to comment further on the investigation.
