nuclear-news

Senate advances bill to put brakes on nuclear fees

Source: Miami Herald

For the first time in seven years, a Senate committee has stood up to the state’s utility companies and unanimously passed a bill that would weaken a law that has allowed them to charge customers for nuclear projects before they are built.

The Senate Communications, Energy and Public Utilities Committee voted unanimously Monday for SB 1472, which would impose strict new requirements on utility companies by demanding that they obtain a license to build a plant before they can continue to charge customers.

The bill is opposed by the state’s largest utility companies, who for years have persuaded legislators not to change the 2006 law known as the Nuclear Cost Recovery Clause even though costs of the plants has quadrupled and their construction plans were postponed.

“What we’ve done is we hit the reset button and then we move forward,” said Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, one of the bill’s sponsors. “This is not an anti-nuclear bill. This is a responsible piece of legislation that we think puts reasonable parameters going forward.”

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Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/08/3330606/senate-advances-bill-to-put-brakes.html

April 9, 2013 - Posted by arclight2011 | Uncategorized