Bill for nuclear plant in Missouri worries consumer groups
JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s energy debate is about to go nuclear.
A state lawmaker filed a bill in the Legislature on Thursday that sets the stage for a battle between utility interests who want to build a new nuclear plant and consumer groups that are leery of the costs.
The action comes the day after AmerenUE chief executive Tom Voss visited key decision makers in the Capitol to lobby for the bill.
The bill, filed by the Legislature’s most senior member — Sen. Delbert Scott, R-Lowry City — would allow investor-owned utility AmerenUE to raise its rates while the nuclear plant in Callaway County is under construction.
The cost for the plant has been estimated at $6 billion or more. The project has been hailed by industry executives and politicians of both parties as a much-needed economic boost to the state. The plant would provide thousands of jobs over a decade or so of construction.
Under Missouri’s current law, approved by voters in a ballot initiative in 1976, utility companies are barred from passing costs of a new plant on to consumers until the plant is operating. The law is generally referred to as "construction work in progress," or CWIP.
Changing the law would allow the financing costs of nuclear, wind and solar energy to be added to the rates as the facilities are built. The bill would also apply to coal plants that use the latest technology to reduce carbon emissions.
Scott said the bill addresses two issues: Having adequate power supplies and keeping the cost of energy down.
"If you wait, the cost is going to be a lot higher and you’ll have a huge spike in electric rates. This way, we’ll continue with low-cost energy and plenty of energy in the state of Missouri," he said.
Scott will face a battle from consumer groups, who say they aren’t opposed to a nuclear plant but don’t believe Ameren should be able to charge consumers until it is built. By repealing the current law, the utility would have no incentive to keep costs down, said John Coffman, a lobbyist for the Consumers Council of Missouri.
The bill "is all about tilting the scales against consumers," Coffman said. "What they (AmerenUE) want is for the rest of the world to bear the risk while they reap the profit."
Several days ago, while testifying before a Senate committee that was discussing energy issues, Coffman told senators that overturning the will of the voters, who overwhelmingly passed the 1976 law, would be a slap to consumers.
But lawmakers said the energy landscape has changed in the past three decades.
"The time that voters passed it was a time of anti-nuclear energy. It was an anti-nuke vote," Scott said. "Those days are over."
He said nuclear power became a more realistic option after utilities quit building coal plants.
The bill protects consumers, Scott said, by requiring a review by the state’s Public Service Commission every three months during construction. The commission, which regulates utility rates in Missouri, would have the power to deny expenses its deems imprudent.
The bill also includes provisions for "low carbon" coal plants. And House Speaker Ron Richard, a Joplin Republican, said he expects the House version of the bill to address hydroelectric power as well.
Richard said he also wants to see a provision that gives Missouri utilities — rather than out-of-state companies — the first right to invest in the nuclear plant AmerenUE is planning to build in Callaway County.
Richard said the issue would move quickly to the House floor, but that he wouldn’t twist any arms to rush it through.
"We’re going to have an open dialogue," he said. "We’re going to talk for a long time."
Even if the bill passes, construction is unlikely to start for eight years, given all the state and federal approvals needed.
"We’re going to run up a dead-end road unless we take action pretty quickly," Scott said.
Post-Dispatch reporter Jeffrey Tomich contributed to this report.
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