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Bill allowing utilities to charge upfront costs to build nuclear plants advances in Missouri House
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The repeal of a nearly 50-year-old voter-approved ban on utilities billing customers for the upfront costs of building nuclear power facilities won initial approval from the Missouri House on Monday.
The legislation, sponsored by Republican Rep. John Black of Marshfield, would allow Missouri utilities to add the cost of a new nuclear plant or renewable energy generator to customers’ rates while they’re under construction.
Missouri’s largest utility company, Ameren, has been attempting to get the ban repealed for more than a decade. Critics of the proposal say the ban was approved by Missouri voters in the 1970s to ensure investor-owned utilities put money into energy supply before charging customers.
Supporter argue that only two states have a complete ban on charging rate payers for “construction work in progress.” Without a change to Missouri law, building clean energy facilities would be cost prohibitive, they contend.
“This bill would allow for the construction of nuclear plants in the state of Missouri,” Black said. “As coal plants are retired, we’ll need base load power 24/7. Nuclear plants can do that… We shut down coal, all we have when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, all we have is nuclear.”
Small module nuclear reactors are most likely the future of nuclear power generation, Black said, but few utilities are building them currently. If the small reactors prove feasible, the market for them will increase.
But critics of the proposal say the legislation amounts to a blank check for monopoly utilities. It’s important that utilities invest in the product they supply before charging ratepayers. In recent years, critics note, many new nuclear facility projects have been abandoned prior to completion.
“Historically speaking, what we’ve seen time and time again… is cost overruns, cost overruns, cost overruns that fall on the ratepayer, often without a completed project,” said Doug Clemens, D-St. Ann.
The debate had raged in Missouri for more than a decade, with Ameren arguing that doing away with the ban is the only way to ensure it can build a new nuclear power plant in Callaway County, home of the state’s only nuclear reactor.
Ameren, which now relies on coal power, has a goal of carbon emissions reaching “net zero” by 2050.
The proposal needs a final vote in the House before moving to the Senate for further deliberations. The Senate is scheduled to hold a committee hearing on it’d version of the legislation on Tuesday.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on Facebook and Twitter.
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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.
Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.
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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.
According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.
Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.
Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.
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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.
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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.
The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.
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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.
A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.
The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.
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