FirstEnergy to Exit Competitive Generation, but Asks General Assembly for Nuclear Power Plant Support

In the same week that FirstEnergy announced an investor group would provide $2.5 billion to enable the company to offload unprofitable generation liabilities, the Akron-based utility appeared in a Statehouse hearing room to urge lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 128 to require Ohio customers to bailout unprofitable nuclear power plants.

Sam Belcher, Chief Nuclear Officer, FirstEnergy, said in testimony: “The updates to the legislation offered by Senator Eklund in October balance the costs to customers of creating a clean energy jobs program with the benefits received from keeping Ohio’s nuclear plants operating. The legislation is expected to generate approximately $180 million annually. While this is less than the original legislation and does not provide the same long-term certainty, it increases the likelihood of keeping Davis-Besse and Perry operational throughout the life of the program.”

Mark Stahl, an Ottawa County Commissioner, also attended the hearing to testify for the bailouts in the name of fuel diversity.

The OMA opposes efforts that shift utility business risk from investors to customers. 1/25/2018