08/27/2026
DID YOU KNOW?
A group of investors led by BlackRock has agreed to buy AES Corporation — the parent company of AES Ohio, which sends power to over 500,000 Ohio homes and businesses. The deal is worth about $10.7 billion.
DID YOU KNOW?
The buyers aren't just BlackRock. The group includes EQT (a private equity firm), CalPERS (California's public pension fund), and the Qatar Investment Authority (a foreign sovereign wealth fund) — four investors with very different interests, all getting a piece of your power company.
DID YOU KNOW?
BlackRock and its partners also have major financial stakes in AI data centers — the same industry driving huge new electricity demand across Ohio. Owning the power company and having deep interests in the industry straining that power company is a potential conflict — one regulators are now being asked to look at.
DID YOU KNOW?
PJM is the organization that runs the regional power grid for Ohio and 12 other states. Its Independent Market Monitor — the official watchdog that keeps that grid's market honest — filed a formal objection with federal regulators, arguing BlackRock can't have it both ways: either be a hands-off investor, or take control of a power company. Not both.
DID YOU KNOW?
The watchdog isn't asking to kill the deal. They're asking for rules attached to it — including a safeguard against pulling existing power plants out of the regional grid to serve data centers instead of regular customers, which could raise prices for everyone else.
DID YOU KNOW?
Nothing's decided yet. FERC hasn't ruled, and Ohio's own utility regulator (PUCO) still has to weigh in too. Ohio Common Ground (OCG) believes that Ohioans should be paying attention before this deal closes.
The Dems and Republicans are more concerned about billionaires than we the people. Get out and Vote Libertarian to save Ohio. PLEASE!!!❤️🤍💙