All posts by Dave Anderson

Dave Anderson is the policy and communications manager for the Energy and Policy Institute. Dave has been working at the nexus of clean energy and public policy since 2008. Prior to joining the Energy and Policy Institute, he was an outreach coordinator for the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. He is also an alumnus of the Sierra Club and the Alliance for Climate Protection (now the Climate Reality Project). Dave’s research has helped to spur public scrutiny of political attacks on clean energy and climate science by powerful special interests, such as ExxonMobil and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). His work has been cited by major media outlets, such as CBS News and the Wall Street Journal, and he has served as a speaker on panels at national solar industry conferences. Dave holds a MA in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire, where he also received a BA in Humanities.

Feds reveal more secret pass-throughs for FirstEnergy money in Larry Householder racketeering case

New information made public by federal prosecutors in the racketeering case against ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder revealed that $400,000 secretly paid by FirstEnergy passed through two dark money groups,...

/ January 10, 2023

FirstEnergy secretly ‘engaged’ Corey Lewandowski to lobby Trump for a public bailout, subpoenaed records confirm after years of denials

FirstEnergy secretly ‘engaged’ Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to lobby President Trump to deliver a public bailout for the utility company’s coal and nuclear power plants in 2017-2018,...

/ December 22, 2022

FirstEnergy charged Pennsylvania customers $2.4 million for ‘inappropriate costs’ related to Ohio investigation

Key Points: FirstEnergy charged customers in Pennsylvania at least $2.4 million for payments to firms associated with Samuel Randazzo and Tony George, two individuals described in the deferred federal criminal...

/ December 15, 2022

Vice President John Skory exits FirstEnergy after ‘violation’

A spokesperson for FirstEnergy said today that Vice President of Utility Operations John Skory left the utility after a violation of company policy. “John Skory, formerly vice president of Utility...

/ November 3, 2022

Gas industry group is behind ‘Affordable Energy Fund’ PAC election mailers and digital ads targeting Ohio 

The Empowerment Alliance, a dark-money group aligned with the gas industry, is behind the mysterious Affordable Energy Fund PAC that spent over $1 million dollars on election mailers and digital...

/ November 1, 2022

FirstEnergy CEO Steven Strah emailed about “under the radar” House Bill 6 provision that cost Ohio ratepayers millions of dollars

FirstEnergy CEO Steven Strah, who rose through the ranks to replace the company’s previous CEO amid the fallout from federal corruption charges related to FirstEnergy’s efforts to pass a 2019...

/ August 25, 2022

FirstEnergy’s Executive Council knew of Randazzo payout long before FBI closed in

Updated on August 23, 2022 with statements from a deposition transcript confirming CEO Steven Strah was a member of FirstEnergy’s Executive Council. New documents disclosed in federal court by FirstEnergy’s...

/ July 25, 2022

Political operative Julia Johnson to leave FirstEnergy board as fallout from bribery scandal continues

A long-time political operative for utilities and telecom companies, Julia L. Johnson, is one of six members of FirstEnergy’s board of directors who will not seek re-election this year under...

/ March 24, 2022

AEP admits in court: Its corporate accountability reports are mere “puffery”

Lawyers for American Electric Power (AEP) described statements made in the electric utility’s annual corporate accountability reports as mere corporate “puffery” and a federal judge agreed. In an order issued...

/ December 21, 2021

American Electric Power-backed dark money group spent over $1.5 million in 2020

Empowering Ohio’s Economy, a group funded solely by American Electric Power, contributed more than $1.5 million to dark money groups in 2020, according to the organization’s tax filings. The source...

/ November 22, 2021