MBEF Joins 19 Senators in Supporting Bipartisan Legislation to Secure Missouri’s Energy Future
MEDIA RELEASE
Kim Carlos – 816-550-1782
kim@moenergyfuture.com
MBEF Joins 19 Senators in Supporting Bipartisan Legislation to Secure Missouri’s Energy Future
Sen. Mike Kehoe’s Plan Protects Consumers, Creates Jobs, Ensures Affordable Rates
February 23, 2011 (Jefferson City, Missouri) – Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future (MBEF) today applauded Sen. Mike Kehoe’s (R-Jefferson City) newly introduced Senate Bill 321. The legislation has overwhelming bipartisan support in the form of 19 cosponsors. The legislation would protect consumers while keeping open the option of increased nuclear power generation in Missouri. This legislation is an important step toward securing affordable, reliable electricity for generations of Missourians.
A second nuclear plant would create 3,000 jobs during the six-year construction phase, 400 permanent jobs and infuse $1.2 billion in Missouri’s economy. This legislation is similar to Sen. Kehoe’s Senate Bill 50, but also includes additional consumer protections that were sought by many of the state’s major industrial users.
The legislation would give investor-owned utilities the same authority to recover costs as electric cooperatives and municipal utilities. The new legislation caps the cost recover at $45 million. The legislation stipulates that if the plant isn’t built or the permit is sold to another company, any money collected for the site permit must be returned to consumers. Costs are only recoverable after a permit is granted and only if the Missouri Public Service Commission deems the expenditures prudent. The legislation also requires oversight and regular reporting of work and expenditures.
As indicated by statements in last week’s House Utilities Committee hearing on a similar bill, broad agreement has been reached on the issues of a cost cap and conditions for returning funds to ratepayers.
The new Senate bill addresses Missouri’s increasing electricity demands by keeping open the option of building a second nuclear power plant in Missouri. The bill, which is expected to cost the average residential customer $2 a year, would allow Missouri electric service providers to secure a site permit from the federal government preserving the option to build a new nuclear power plant in the future. Companion legislation, House Bill 124, is currently moving through the Missouri House of Representatives.
The legislation has 19 bipartisan supporters in the Senate. It has already garnered the support of a statewide coalition of citizen organizations, chambers of commerce, labor organizations and business groups, as well as Missouri’s electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and other electric service providers.
“Many of Missouri’s aging coal plants will need to be retired or replaced in the near future,” said Irl L. Scissors, executive director of MBEF. “As 80% of the electricity we use in Missouri is generated by coal, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering regulations that will make electricity generated from coal more expensive, we must build more nuclear power plants to meet Missouri’s growing demand in the most affordable way possible. This legislation will allow us to keep open the option of affordable, efficient and clean nuclear power – and it provides a strategic plan to meet Missouri’s future energy challenges.”
About Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future (MBEF): MBEF is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization comprised of small and large businesses, labor, farmers, associations, trade groups and Missouri citizens, who understand that securing Missouri’s reliable energy sources for tomorrow means making common sense decisions today. www.moenergyfuture.org.
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