Ohio Senate passes proposal to eliminate nuclear bailout at heart of House Bill 6  

COLUMBUS – Ohio lawmakers unanimously passed a proposal to eliminate a controversial $1 billion bailout for nuclear plants – with the apparent blessing of the company that owns them.On Wednesday, the Ohio Senate passed Senate Bill 44, 32-0, which would eliminate subsidies for two nuclear plants in northern Ohio tacked onto Ohioans’ electric bills.

The bailout is a key component of House Bill 6, which was at the heart of a federal bribery investigation. Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, and four others were accused of participating in a nearly $61 million scheme to elect Householder as leader of the House, pass House Bill 6 and defend it against a ballot initiative to block the law.

In the seven months since their arrests, Ohio lawmakers have done little to change the underlying law, which also subsidized coal plants, eliminated incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency and guaranteed profits for Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp.

“We need to use this as a learning opportunity,” said Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, of House Bill 6. “This is something that will undo what I feel is an awful lot of damage that has been done not just to our institution but to the state of Ohio.”

Senate Bill 44 would eliminate the subsidies for the Perry and Davis-Besse plants owned by Energy Harbor, which was previously called FirstEnergy Solutions. Energy Harbor now says it doesn’t need those fees, which were slated to be added to Ohioans’ electric bills through 2027.

A change from federal utility regulators in late 2019 effectively penalizes companies that accept state subsidies when those companies sell their power. Energy Harbor also expects it can compete with natural gas under Democratic President Joe Biden’s policies, lawmakers said. Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, said Energy Harbor appears to have benefitted from its bankruptcy proceedings, too.

Fees on Ohioans’ electric bills never took effect because lawsuits brought by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Cincinnati and Columbus blocked them.

The bill keeps $20 million in subsidies for solar companies, which would drop the monthly fee from 85 cents to 10 cents for residential customers and from $2,400 to $242 for industrial customers.

Sen. Sandra Williams, D-Cleveland, offered an amendment to put utility shutoffs on hold during the COVID-19 emergency, but it was rejected. Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, said Ohio recently authorized $50 million for help with utility bills and he would work with Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration to ensure it gets to the people who need it.

One lesson Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said he’s learned from House Bill 6 is Ohio lawmakers aren’t all experts on energy policy and should leave some decisions to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

“These complex issues regarding utilities should be decided by the public utilities commission and not, from time to time, with legislation,” Huffman said. “It’s sort of a cautionary tale to a lot of complex issues.”

The Ohio Senate recently passed Senate Bill 10, which eliminates the decoupling provision from state law and refunds about $17 million collected from customers before the court ruling. FirstEnergy could still seek that benefit from state utility regulators.

Both bills would need approval from the Ohio House of Representatives and Gov. Mike DeWine to become law.

Going forward, Huffman said Ohio lawmakers could do more to limit the influence of dark money in politics.

“We have to find a way to minimize it, but so much of that is controlled by the federal government,” he said.