The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Bill eliminating nuclear power plant subsidies passes
Bill now moves on to the House
The Ohio Senate on March 3 unanimously passed a bill that eliminates the nuclear power plant subsidies, including those for the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, that were passed in 2019 under House Bill 6.
The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, as well as Salem Republican Sen. Michael Rulli. The bill moves on to the Ohio House for further consideration.
The owner of the state’s two nuclear plants FirstEnergy Solutions, filed for bankruptcy in March 2018 and had plans to shut down both plants by 2021 if it did not receive subsidies.
House Bill 6 was signed into law a little more than a year later in July 2019. The bill among other things, provides the nuclear plants more than $1 billion in subsidies over a seven-year period.
The funds are raised through charges paid by residential, commercial and industrial electric customers. Residential customers would be charged 85 cents per month for the subsidies.
Payments were supposed to begin this January but are on hold due to lawsuits from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati.
FirstEnergy Solutions emerged from bankruptcy just over a year ago under the name Energy Harbor.
House Bill 6 is at the center of an alleged bribery scandal. In July 2020, then Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder was arrested along with four others on federal racketeering charges.
Cirino was a Lake County commissioner at the time of House Bill 6’s passage and was a supporter of the legislation. During a Feb. 9 hearing for the bill in the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee, Cirino said “it is now clear that the circumstances have changed” since House Bill 6’s passage, noting FirstEnergy Solutions emergence from bankruptcy as Energy Harbor.
“While not familiar with the details of their current financial position, it would be a reasonable assumption to believe that their financial condition is improved as a result of the bankruptcy proceedings,” Cirino said.
“There are also indications that the energy policies which appear to be brewing in Washington will present a friendlier environment supporting the continued utilization of these nuclear assets.
“This federal support may take many forms ranging from clean energy credits, direct subsidies or improved positioning in the power auction process directed by PJM,” Cirino added. “These are speculative at this point. However, the directional nature of these support options appears to be very reasonable at this point.”
A message sent to an Energy Harbor spokesperson seeking comment on the bill’s passage was not immediately returned.
Senate Bill 44 keeps $20 million in subsidies for solar companies, which would lower the residential customers’ 85 cent monthly fee to 10 cents. That would also lower the fee for industrial customers from $2,400 to $242 per month.
“Our communities rely on vital energy jobs,” Cirino said in a March 3 statement following the Senate’s passage of the bill. “Ohioans should know that elected officials are addressing their concerns as this legislation would protect ratepayers, Ohio’s green energy generation, and the local economies surrounding Ohio’s two nuclear plants.”
Rulli voted against House Bill 6 in 2019. In a statement he said that he and his constituents had serious concerns about the provisions included in that bill.
“By repealing the nuclear subsidy, this bill is an important step to fixing some of those issues, including saving money for ratepayers, protecting Ohio jobs, and providing a clear path forward,” Rulli said in his statement.