Missouri House votes to ease restrictions on nuclear power plant ... - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Missouri House votes to ease restrictions on nuclear power plant construction costs
Not since Ameren built its Callaway Nuclear Plant in the 1970s has there been a power plan like the fight over freeing electric utilities from regulatory oversight. JEFFERSON CITY — Utility companies like Ameren Missouri could begin billing customers for the upfront costs of building nuclear power facilities under a plan advancing in the General Assembly. In debate Monday, the Missouri House gave preliminary approval to legislation allowing utility companies to add the cost of a new nuclear plant or renewable energy generator to customers’ rates while they’re under construction. That’s a practice that was banned by Missouri voters in 1976 in response to the utility company’s attempt to collect costs while it was building the state’s first and only nuclear power plant in Callaway County. Then, and now, consumer advocates object to the concept of forcing utility users to pay for something that is not yet in service, especially when Ameren recently obtained a rate increase and, in February, announced a 7% increase in its quarterly cash dividend, signaling healthy economic times.

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Rep. John Black, R-Springfield, who is sponsoring the proposal said the change is needed to begin weaning companies like Ameren off the use of coal-burning plants to generate electricity. Ameren now predominantly relies on coal for power generation, but aims to pour billions of dollars into renewable energy projects over the next two decades, with the goal of carbon emissions reaching “net zero” by 2050. The Consumers Council of Missouri is among those who oppose the plan, saying if the plant is never completed, electric customers still bear the costs. In South Carolina, the concept enabled a utility to charge ratepayers for the construction of two nuclear reactors that were never completed. During that period, South Carolina ratepayers were charged billions of dollars until the project faltered and ultimately collapsed, the watchdog organization said. Large industrial users of electricity, including Ford Motor Co. and other manufacturers, also oppose the plan. Black said the legislation limits the size of the plants in order to avoid cost overruns that plagued the construction of larger facilities in other states. “This bill limits the size of these reactors. It provides jobs, good jobs,” Black said. But Rep. Doug Clemens, D-St. Ann, warned that the measure could hurt consumers. “This particular scheme is essentially giving a blank check to our utility companies,” Clemens said. “We’ll never see productivity out of this scheme.” Ameren has sought to repeal the ban before in 2009 and 2012, but shelved expansion of its Callaway plant in 2015 when that did not transpire. Black also has argued that consumers would be protected from rate hikes if the measure is approved. The Public Service Commission, for example, which regulates investor-owned utilities like Ameren, would still have to sign off on any rate hikes. The proposal needs a final vote in the House before moving to the Senate for further deliberations. The legislation is House Bill 225. Missouri's Legislature reflects the federal structure in many ways. Video by Beth O'Malley