nuclear-news

Ohio may pass bill to save state’s nuclear power plants over the weekend

June 28 (Reuters) – A committee in the Ohio Senate could
vote on a nuclear bailout bill this weekend that would enable
the full state legislature to pass legislation over the weekend
to prevent the state’s two power reactors from early retirement,
sources familiar with the bill said on Friday.

FirstEnergy Solutions, the bankrupt unit of Ohio energy
company FirstEnergy Corp       , has said it would shut the
money-losing reactors in 2020 and 2021 if the state did not
adopt a plan to provide some money for the plants by June 30.

Officials at FirstEnergy Solutions and several legislative
offices were not immediately available for comment.
The House and Senate have sessions available to vote on the
bill if needed on Saturday and Sunday, sources said.

“We expect the legislature will move quickly to get multiple
votes on the bill ahead of (FirstEnergy Solutions’) June 30
deadline,” analysts at Height Capital Markets in Washington,
D.C., said in a report on Thursday.

The Ohio Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee
adopted amendments on House Bill 6 (HB 6) earlier this week and
may add more amendments before the vote on Saturday, sources
said.

….... Despite the subsidies for the nuclear and coal plants,

consumers would see an overall reduction in their electricity
bills because the Senate amendments, like the House version of
the bill, would reduce costs by weakening the state's renewable
and energy efficiency standards...... Reporting by Scott DiSavino, editing by G Crosse)  https://www.reuters.com/article/ohio-nuclear/ohio-may-pass-bill-to-save-states-nuclear-power-plants-over-the-weekend-idUSL2N23Z1AF

June 29, 2019 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA