CLEVELAND, Ohio — A dark money group’s efforts to undermine Cleveland Public Power were bankrolled by $200,000 from FirstEnergy Corp. – money that reached the group through a nonprofit at the center of the House Bill 6 bribery scandal, records and interviews show.
Tax filings and federal court documents link FirstEnergy’s funds in 2019 to Consumers Against Deceptive Fees, a group that billed itself as an advocate for Cleveland utility customers by questioning rates. Critics, however, say the group was, in fact, a vehicle of FirstEnergy that sought to topple a competitor, city-owned CPP.