Another Bill to Repeal HB 6 Nuclear Subsidies

Another bill has been introduced at the Statehouse to repeal the nuclear subsidies authorized by the scandal-plagued House Bill 6. Remarkably, the new legislation is sponsored by two of HB 6’s strongest supporters in 2019.

House Bill 128 was introduced by Rep. James Hoops (R-Napoleon) — chair of the House Public Utilities Committee — and Rep. Dick Stein (R-Norwalk), a vocal proponent of nuclear energy. The bill, which received its first hearing this week, would rescind HB 6’s $150 million a year in subsidies provided to Energy Harbor, owner of Ohio’s two nuclear power plants.

In short, HB 128 would:

• Repeal $170 million in HB 6 generation subsidies, including $20 million a year for a handful of solar plants;
• Eliminate the decoupling provision that locked in FirstEnergy revenue at record-setting 2018 levels ($978 million); and
• End the change that reworked the “significantly excessive earnings” test to benefit FirstEnergy.

The sponsors of HB 128 say repeal of the subsidies is now necessary so the plants may continue to sell electricity into the PJM capacity market. (The OMA spotlighted this issue more than a year ago.)

The Senate, meanwhile, has its own subsidy-repeal plan in Senate Bill 44. 2/17/2021