nuclear-news

Hearings to be held on demand of industry for Income-guarantee for Davis-Besse nuclear plant

Income-guarantee request envelops Davis-Besse nuclear plant in controversy again, By Dan GearinoThe Columbus Dispatch  •  Tuesday May 19, 2015 In a debate over an alleged “coal bailout” for power plants, Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station doesn’t quite fit.

And yet, it is among the seven Ohio plants — and the only one that doesn’t run on coal — whose owners are seeking income guarantees from state regulators.

This is the latest in a lifetime of controversy for the FirstEnergy-owned plant, which produced its first electricity in 1977.

“The nuclear industry cannot operate with profit in the marketplace, so they’re looking for these different schemes,” said Allison Fisher, outreach director on energy issues for Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocate. “They’re trying to find a way to shift the risk from the company to the consumer.”

Hearings will begin next month for FirstEnergy’s request for an income guarantee, a case before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio that already has thousands of pages of testimony and dozens of participants.

The PUCO has ruled on similar proposals from American Electric Power and Duke Energy, rejecting the plans but saying that their underlying concept was legal; both decisions are being appealed. AEP also has a separate proposal that is still pending……….

Under the proposal, the plants would have a guarantee of enough income to cover costs plus a profit. If the actual income is less than a specified level, then consumers would pay the difference through a charge on their bills……..http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2015/05/19/debate-returns.html

May 20, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA