FirstEnergy Corp
FE
Utilities
2
exclusion reasons
2 themes
This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
FirstEnergy Corp operates a generation fleet that is approximately 56% coal-fired, with coal accounting for the dominant share of its fuel mix. The company’s regulated utilities rely heavily on aging coal plants, including the Sammis plant in Ohio and the Harrison Power Station in West Virginia. Through its subsidiary Global Coal Sales Group, LLC, FirstEnergy also acts as the exclusive marketer for coal produced at the Bull Mountain Coal Mine.
The company’s reliance on coal was central to a major political corruption scandal. In 2020, FirstEnergy admitted in a deferred prosecution agreement to funneling $60 million through dark money groups to secure the passage of Ohio House Bill 6, which levied charges on customer bills to bail out the company’s uneconomic coal and nuclear plants. In November 2025, Ohio regulators ordered a $250 million penalty against FirstEnergy for its role in the scheme, citing the legislation’s purpose of propping up aging coal plants. An audit by Daymark Energy Advisors, presented in 2025 regulatory hearings, found spending on these plants could not be traced to proper cost causation.
FirstEnergy has not announced a phase-out plan for its coal generation. Its integrated operations—from mining marketing to generation—and the scale of its coal-fired capacity demonstrate coal remains a primary business activity.
FirstEnergy Corp has accumulated $213.7 million in environmental penalties across 43 enforcement records documented by ViolationTracker. This includes a 2019 federal court ruling that denied the company’s attempt to evade responsibility for a toxic coal ash site in Pennsylvania, holding it liable under the Superfund law (CERCLA) for cleanup costs. The company’s environmental record is further defined by its role in a catastrophic coal ash spill at the Little Blue Run impoundment, which regulators found resulted in the release of 1.5 million tons of toxic material — at least 30 times more than initially reported — contaminating local waterways and groundwater.
The company’s operational conduct has repeatedly drawn legal action for environmental damage. New York State Electric & Gas sued FirstEnergy under CERCLA to recover costs for cleaning up hazardous substance contamination. While the 2025 $250 million penalty from Ohio regulators was specifically tied to the HB6 political corruption scandal, the scale of the penalty underscores a pattern of systemic governance failures that enable environmental and community harm.
Research Sources
1 organization
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Companies appear on our exclusion list based on our investment judgment — not because they've done anything illegal. This is a difference of values and opinion, not an accusation of wrongdoing. Exclusion does not constitute a recommendation against investing in any company, and absence from the list does not constitute a recommendation to invest.
This information is provided for educational and transparency purposes only and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Data is drawn from independent watchdogs, NGOs, government registries, and Ethical Capital's ongoing research — see Research Sources for the full list.
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