JIM PROVANCE The Blade jprovance@theblade.com "We all know now from the U.S. Attorney's investigation that…
Ohio House to vote on bailout for nuclear, coal plants that will raise utility bills
By Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Bureau
Republicans re-vamped a controversial energy bill pending in the Ohio House, making changes that eroded the chances that Democrats would vote for it and angering renewable power advocates.
House Bill 6 cleared the House Energy Committee on Thursday, teeing it up for a possible floor vote as early as Wednesday.
The latest version of House Bill 6 would wipe out renewable energy standards – a long time goal of some Republican lawmakers and business groups – and charge residential customers across Ohio $1 per month and other customer classes higher monthly fees to create a “clean air fund.”
Two nuclear power plants owned by First Energy Solutions would be eligible to receive grant money from the fund, which would generate about $198 million a year.
The bill also calls for charging residential customers $2.50 per month to subsidize operation of two coal-fired plants owned by the Ohio Valley Electric Corp. – including one in Indiana.
The bill sets up a hurdle for wind energy projects by allowing township voters to block them.
House Bill 6, introduced in April, has been subject to intense lobbying, extensive testimony, multiple revisions and $3 million in TV and radio ads both for and against it.
State Rep. David Leland, D-Columbus, a member of the House Energy Committee, said Democrats bargained in good faith for a clean energy bill. “Instead, this misguided bill has gone from bad to worse, bailing out more corporations at the expense of working people and the environment. It’s a bad deal for workers, for consumers and for Ohio,” he said.
The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel said in written testimony that the new version names winners and losers. “It’s great for: Big nuclear; Big coal; Big electric utilities; Big industrial customers; Big FirstEnergy and the Big Wall Street creditors of bankrupt FirstEnergy Solutions. The Bill is bad for regular folks —‘Bob and Betty Buckeye’ — and smaller business customers who will pay to make the bill great for big business.”
Read the original article from the Dayton Daily News