Ohio lawmakers move House Bill 6 reform bill ahead, but its future remains murky
"The House Select Committee on Energy Policy and Oversight, set up to study what to do about HB6, waved forward House Bill 798, which would delay the bailout of two Northern Ohio nuclear plants by one year. Under HB6, from 2021 until 2027, every Ohio electricity customer will have to pay a new monthly surcharge that ranges from 85 cents for residential customers to $2,400 for large industrial plants.
HB798 would impose stricter auditing provisions on Energy Harbor, the plants’ owner, to ensure it actually needs the money. In addition, it would eliminate some other provisions that critics say are meant to benefit FirstEnergy Corp., the company alleged to have provided $60 million toward the bribery scheme.
Before moving HB798 forward, the committee removed the “emergency clause” from the bill, meaning if Gov. Mike DeWine signed it into law, it wouldn’t take effect for 90 days. As the nuclear bailout fee is set to begin Jan. 1, that means there would be a period of several weeks when the fee is collected before the bill takes effect and stops it for a year.
Recognizing that, the committee also added a provision providing for immediate refunds of whatever fees are collected before the bill took effect."
— Jeremy Pelzer, Cleveland.com