COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R-Ohio) said FirstEnergy has agreed to stop one of its policies that would have allowed the company to collect hundreds of millions from Ohioans.

In return, the attorney general has agreed not to challenge the policy in court until the criminal case surrounding House Bill 6 ends.

House Bill 6, the taxpayer-funded bailout of two Ohio nuclear power plants, is at the center of a federal investigation in which former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) and four others are accused of using $61 million in bribes from FirstEnergy to pass and defend the bill.

Yost said FirstEnergy has agreed to not collect a decoupling surcharge that the bill said it could. It would have guaranteed the corporation $987 million per year regardless of consumer usage.

"A for-profit probably as a matter of morality probably should not be able to guarantee its profits against the marketplace by operation of law. But be that as it may, we felt that was the fruit of the corrupt enterprise," said Yost.​

Decoupling was created in 2008 to help utilities recover lost revenue if consumers choose other more energy-efficient options.

The company filed a motion Monday with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to drop its decoupling rate to zero.

Yost said First Energy would have made $102 million this year if the move was not made.

"We're not talking chicken feed here," he said with a laugh.

FirstEnergy has collected decoupling fees for the past year but Yost said this deal does not give consumers any refund. Yet, Yost said he may still look into getting that money back.

"We want to see the rest of the facts and have some discovery before we figure out our future progress on the case," he said.

A FirstEnergy spokesperson released this statement:

"Working to constructively resolve this matter in cooperation with the Ohio Attorney General and other parties is part of decisive actions the Board and management are taking to position FirstEnergy for the future and continue to deliver safe, reliable electric service to our customers. FirstEnergy’s leadership is committed to transparency and integrity in every aspect of its business."​

In December, a Franklin County judge blocked the nuclear bailout fee from being collected as well.

Yost said the bailout and decoupling moves his office has made will save Ohioans $2 billion.