A new bill introduced by two Republican state senators aims to remove the part of House Bill 6 that provides subsidies to two nuclear power plants owned by Energy Harbor, formerly FirstEnergy Solutions.
State Senators Jerry Cirino of Kirtland and Michael Rulli of Salem have introduced Senate Bill 44. Cirino says it does not repeal or replace House Bill 6. It just removes the subsidy provision, which he says will lower electric bills.
“We are eliminating, in the bill, $130 million plus per year that if HB6 was left intact, would be going to the nuclear facilities," Cirino said. "So we’re taking that away and they’re on their own to figure out how to operate better and what they can do with the federal government.”
PJM Interconnection is a Regional Transmission Organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity across 13 states including District of Columbia and Ohio.
They are offering pricing support to energy operators, but Cirino says it would be difficult for PJM to provide this support to operators accepting these subsidies.
Cirino says he supports nuclear power and says the plants will remain open with federal support that can help them continue to operate without the subsidy.
The Senate Energy Committee will have hearings about Senate Bill 44 beginning next week.
Read the bill as proposed:
