FirstEnergy Solutions will keep its two Ohio reactors open after the state this week approved a $150 million annual boost to the financially struggling company.
The Akron-based power provider announced Wednesday afternoon it would halt preparations for deactivating the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor and the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry. Without the support from a statewide utility rate hike from 2021 to 2027, FES had planned to retire the reactors by, respectively, by May 2020 and May 2021.
The corporation needed the state bailout money approved this month before it arranged to buy $52 million in nuclear fuel for the refueling Davis-Besse next spring. That process will go ahead, FES said.
“We are very pleased that Governor Mike DeWine signed HB6 following its successful bipartisan passage in the General Assembly,” said FirsEnergy Solutions CEO John Judge in a press release. “We’re also thankful for the support and commitment by Speaker Householder and Senate President Obhof who understood the importance of protecting 90 percent of the state’s zero- emissions electricity, substantial employment and the need to provide affordable rates from a diverse portfolio of generation sources for Ohioans.”
The Ohio House of Representatives voted 51-38 Tuesday to approve its bill following recent modifications by the state Senate. DeWine (R) then quickly signed the measure into law.
The bill translates to an $0.85 monthly increase in the electric bill for each Ohio residential utility customer, along with higher levels for business and industrial ratepayers. However, it also dramatically cuts fees going to energy conservation and renewable energy programs, meaning those programs will be significantly slashed, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
The two reactors of FES’ Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport, Pa., are still on schedule to close by May 2021 and October 2021. So far, the Pennsylvania legislature has not been able to get a financial package for FES beyond the committee stage.
