FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) on Wednesday came closer to securing passage of a sought-after bailout bill for two struggling nuclear power plants in Ohio.
But potential full passage of the state legislation is not expected until Aug. 1 at the earliest, which would be two weeks after the company’s Wednesday deadline.
On Wednesday, the Ohio Senate voted 19-12 in favor of a modified version of House Bill 6, and sent it back to the lower chamber. However, the Columbus Dispatch reported the House adjourned Wednesday evening without taking up the modified measure, and is not expected to tackle the matter for a couple weeks.
The legislation would raise electricity rates by $0.85 monthly for residential customers across the state, with $150 million of the money raised annually directed to FirstEnergy Solutions to sustain the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants. Otherwise, both would close by May 2021.
FirstEnergy Solutions, which is reorganizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, originally told the Ohio legislature it needed the bill passed by July 1 in order to stop the shutdown of its Ohio nuclear plants. When July 1 arrived, FES bumped that deadline to July 17. The company has said it needs to know whether it should buy new nuclear fuel for its single-reactor Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, rather than simply advancing toward closure in May 2020. The fuel for Davis-Besse would cost $52 million, according to FES.
FirstEnergy Solutions also plans to retire the two reactors at its Beaver Valley Power Station in Pennsylvania in May and October 2021. Lawmakers there have not agreed on any legislative means for supporting the facility.