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.

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

Who knew about bribes paid during FirstEnergy Solutions’ bankruptcy and House Bill 6 bailout campaign?

FirstEnergy Solutions’ board and management knew about plans to contribute $40 million to Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) group associated with then Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, in the midst of...

/ November 16, 2021

NextEra spent $20 million to “ban” clean energy transmission project in Maine

Voters in Maine approved “Question 1” on the November ballot, in an effort to ban a 145 mile transmission line needed to carry hydropower from Quebec to help meet Massachusetts’...

/ November 3, 2021

Do major investors support American Electric Power’s lobbying against President Biden’s clean energy plan?

Despite publicly pledging to support efforts to limit global warming emissions, asset managers are silent while utilities lobby against climate legislation

/ September 30, 2021

DeWine raked in campaign money from AEP after the utility revealed a subpoena from the SEC

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine received $25,500 in campaign contributions from American Electric Power’s PAC and some of the electric utility’s top executives one month after AEP revealed it received a...

/ August 2, 2021