By John Stang
FirstEnergy Solutions said Monday it would reconsider plans to close two nuclear power plants if the Ohio legislature by July 17 passes a bill that that would create a state subsidy for the bankrupt corporation.
The bill is controversial because all of the state’s ratepayers —regardless of whether they are served by FES — would face increases in their monthly bills to help bail out the politically influential corporation.
On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that as much as $8.3 million has been spent in support or opposition to the legislation, mostly funneled into television and radio ads supporting the bill or to the election war chests of supportive lawmakers. The Enquirer said it is impossible to track the money — so-called “dark money” — because the greatest amount came from a 501(c)(4) organization called Generation Now that doesn’t have to list donors.
The Akron-based power provider’s previous deadline for passage of the legislation was Sunday, which went by with the rate-increase bill still being hammered out in committee in the Ohio Senate. The company has said it needs to know whether it should buy new nuclear fuel for its Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, rather than simply advancing toward closure next year.
“While FES is optimistic about the outcome for HB6, the company remains unable to purchase the fuel required for Davis-Besse’s next refueling cycle without the certainty of critical legislative support,” the company said in a press release Monday.
The Senate bill is expected to approve a lower rate increase than the legislation — sponsored by Republican Reps. Jamie Callender and Shane Wilkin — that left the Ohio House on May 29. That means the two chambers of the state General Assembly will then have to reconcile their respective measures.
The latest public version of the legislation would charge all residential consumers an extra $0.80 per month for the nuclear plants from 2020 to 2026. The proposed business rate would be $11 a month. The monthly rate for industrial customers would vary from $240 to $2,400. This is estimated to raise $150 million from all the customers for the company in the first year after passage, compared to $197 million in the original House bill.
Gov. Mike. DeWine (R), House Speaker Larry Householder (R), and Senate President Larry Obhof (R) aim to have the bill passed and signed by July 17, according to local news coverage.
In the interim, FES said Monday it is “on path for a safe deactivation and decommissioning. Should we receive the long-term certainty that comes with an affirmative vote within this timeframe, we will immediately reevaluate our options. Given the expectation that the legislation will be passed in the coming weeks, we have communicated our commitment to doing everything possible to accommodate this process, which will come with increased financial burden associated with missing the June 30th fuel purchasing deadline for Davis-Besse.”
The fuel for Davis-Besse would cost $52 million, according to FES.
FirstEnergy Solutions and several corporate siblings filed for federal bankruptcy protection on March 31, 2018 — days after the company announced that four reactors in Ohio and Pennsylvania would be shut down because they cannot economically compete with power generated by natural gas.
In Ohio, Davis-Besse is set to close in May 2020, followed by the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry in May 2021. In Pennsylvania, the two reactors at the Beaver Valley Power Station are due to close in May and October 2021.
FirstEnergy Solutions has sought assistance from federal and state governments to sustain the nuclear operations. State legislation was filed this year in Ohio and Pennsylvania to help prop up all three plants. In Pennsylvania, the state Senate adjourned in May without finalizing a roughly $500 million nuclear bailout appropriations package. Pleas to the Trump administration have not resulted in any concrete proposals being made public
FirstEnergy Solutions and the other subsidiaries are trying to separate themselves from parent FirstEnergy Corp. which is being kept out of the bankruptcy proceedings. They have applied for federal authorization to transfer the licenses for the Ohio and Pennsylvania plants to new entities that would be formed following the bankruptcy. The transfer would cover the licenses for the four reactors and the sites’ spent fuel storage pads.
A new holding company would be created, along with reorganized forms of FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. (FENOC), which operates the facilities, and FirstEnergy Nuclear Generation (FENGen), their official owner. Those new entities would retain their missions under the reorganization. None of the new companies would have any relationship to FirstEnergy or FirstEnergy Solutions.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s comment period for the license transfer application is open, with input due by July 26. A request for a hearing must be filed by July 16.
For information, people can go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0137. Address questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone 301-287-9127; e-mail:[email protected].
E-mail comments should go to [email protected]. Faxed comments should go to Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 301-415-1101. Mailed comments should go to Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
