Never needed? Senate president predicts little opposition to nuclear bailout repeal
A billion-dollar nuclear subsidy was the subject of an intense fight in 2019 and great controversy since. But the president of the Ohio Senate this week predicted that a repeal will make it through the House, Senate and that Gov. Mike DeWine will sign it.
The reason: The company that owns the nuclear reactors no longer wants the money, he said. And that raises serious questions about whether the subsidies were needed in the first place.
The subsidy was the product of House Bill 6. The legislation was passed in 2019 after a nasty fight which led to federal criminal charges against then-House Speaker Larry Householder, four associates and a dark-money group.
Prosecutors said $61 million from Akron-based First Energy and associated groups was used in the corrupt effort to pass the bailout. Two of Householder’s associates and the dark money group have pleaded guilty, FirstEnergy’s CEO was fired and Gov. Mike DeWine’s appointee to chair the Public Utility Commission of Ohio has resigned as part of the scandal.
Read more: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2021/02/18/never-needed-senate-president-predicts-little-opposition-to-nuclear-bailout-repeal/