Kehoe introduces early nuclear plant permit bill
State Sen. Mike Kehoe has filed a bill allowing AmerenMissouri and its consortium of for-profit and rural electric cooperative utilities to have ratepayers pay for the costs of seeking an early site permit to build a second nuclear reactor in Callaway County.
Kehoe’s action came Wednesday, the next-to-last day that state senators could introduce bills for this year’s legislative session — and 51 weeks after a similar bill received a marathon hearing before a Senate committee that never held another meeting. Subsequent efforts died on the last day of the session.
“The ESP bill I filed is identical to the ESP components in last year’s May 13th compromise,” the Jefferson City Republican said, “with all the consumer protections, and the clawback for customers to get their money back if a plant’s not built.”
Kehoe’s proposal would allow an electric company to recover, over no more than six years, up to $45 million of “prudently-incurred expenditures” the company spent to win an early site permit from the NRC.
–Bob Watson
