American Electric Power CEO Nick Akins said Thursday that federal investigators have not contacted the company about an alleged bribery scheme tied to passage of Ohio House Bill 6, and he defended AEP’s contributions to a “social welfare organization” linked to the scandal.
“We are not aware of any information suggesting that AEP’s participation in the process was anything other than lawful and ethical,” he said in prepared comments during a quarterly earnings call with financial analysts. “Based on the facts that we know, we do not believe that AEP is [among] any of the companies specifically described in the [federal charges]. We have not been contacted by any authorities conducting the investigation. If at any point we are, we will cooperate fully.”
Akins said the company has contributed $8.7 million since 2015 to Empowering Ohio’s Economy, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organized to promote economic and business development in Ohio. The contributions, he said, were ‘’appropriate and lawful,” and he noted that AEP has contributed to a variety of such organizations.
“We consistently advocate for policy positions that benefit our customers, communities and shareholders, and our advocacy of HB6 was no different,” he said. “We ultimately supported the legislation because we believe it maintained important fuel diversity for Ohio, including support for investments in renewables, nuclear generation and two [Ohio Valley Electric Corporation] coal plants.”
AEP owns 43% of OVEC.
Given “concerns that some have expressed regarding the lack of transparency surrounding 501(c)(4) organizations,” Akins said, AEP will commit to include[ing] additional disclosures about its contributions to the organizations in its 2020 corporate accountability report and going forward. Those nonprofits are not required to disclose their donors and the amount of donations.
“We also are reviewing best practices and working to improve our policies and processes around political contributions and contributions to 501(c)(4) entities,” he said.
The Columbus Dispatch, AEP’s hometown newspaper, reported in July that the company has contributed to Empowering Ohio’s Economy, which is part of a federal case that has led to the indictment of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four associates on criminal charges. The nonprofit gave $150,000 to Generation Now, a dark money group that received $61 million from FirstEnergy interests to ensure HB 6’s passage, the Dispatch said. (See FirstEnergy, AEP CEOs Deny Wrongdoing.)
The legislation provided $1 billion in subsidies to a pair of coal plants in which AEP has a 43% stake and two nuclear plants. Businesses, legislators and ratepayers have all called for HB 6 to be repealed.
“We were surprised and disappointed to learn of what federal investigators allege was a scheme by the speaker of the Ohio House and others to enrich themselves, and we, along with you, have been trying to educate ourselves about the criminal complaint and the underlying conduct in it,″ Akins said.
The comments came the same day Householder and others were to be arraigned in federal court on racketeering and bribery charges. Householder’s hearing was delayed after he requested new legal representation.
AEP reported quarterly earnings of $521 million ($1.05/share), an increase from 2019’s second-quarter earnings of $461 million ($0.93/share).
The company’s stock price rose 54 cents during the day, closing at $84.83.
