Ohio Governor Signs Bill To Bail Out Nuclear Plants

(ONN) – After 14 weeks of negotiations, intense lobbying and a deluge of ads, Ohio lawmakers have approved legislation to subsidize nuclear and coal-fired power plants with millions of public dollars.

Under the bill, which was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine, every Ohio electricity customer would have to pay a new monthly surcharge to provide $150 million per year to prop up two nuclear plants in northeast Ohio belonging to Akron-based FirstEnergy.

Beginning next year, ratepayers around the state would also have to chip in to subsidize coal plants in Ohio and Indiana run by the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation.

The bill would also effectively stop Ohio’s decade-old energy-efficiency and renewable-energy mandates for utilities.