Davis-Besse's future in lawmakers' hands with House Bill 6 measures

COLUMBUS — An Ohio House panel held its second hearing Wednesday on a pair of bills offering different ways of dismantling 2019 legislation that federal prosecutors now claim was likely approved because it benefited from a $61 million bribery scheme masterminded by former House Speaker Larry Householder and other Republicans to stave off premature closures of Ohio's Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants. Known as House Bill 6, the legislation provided a $1 billion bailout for the nuclear plants while also doing away with a 2008 law the Ohio General Assembly had passed by a wide margin 12 years ago to mandate more investment in renewable power and energy efficiency from utilities doing business in the state. The House Select Committee on Energy Policy and Oversight is holding a series of hearings on two bills within that chamber, both of which aim to repeal the 2019 action. Gov. Mike DeWine has said that is necessary because of the cloud hanging over House Bill 6, but wants it replaced with something that keeps the two nuclear plants viable. The two discussed on Wednesday were House Bill 738, sponsored by state Reps. Mike Skindell (D., Lakewood) and Michael O'Brien (D., Warren), and a Republican version called House Bill 746, sponsored by Reps. Laura Lanese (R., Grove City) and Dave Greenspan (R, Westlake). The Ohio Senate is considering Senate Bill 346, bipartisan legislation co-sponsored by Ohio Sens. Sean O'Brien (D., Warren) and Stephanie Kunze, (R., Hilliard). Almost every time the Energy Policy and Oversight committee's chairman, Rep. Jim Hoops (R., Napoleon), called on Democratic members of that committee on Wednesday, references were made to the charges Mr. Householder and four other Republican loyalists face. The two parties may disagree over what's next, but "all can agree none of us would be sitting here if it wasn't for corruption," Ohio Rep. Kristin Boggs (D., Columbus) said. The first witness of the 2.5-hour hearing was Sam Randazzo, chairman of both the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and Ohio Power Siting Board, who admittedly was guarded with some of his responses because of concerns over multiple investigations into activities by FirstEnergy Corp., and its related subsidiaries. The two nuclear plants — Davis-Besse is east of Toledo, and Perry is east of Cleveland — are now owned and operated by Energy Harbor, a company that emerged out of the federal bankruptcy proceedings of their last owner, FirstEnergy Solutions. Randazzo submitted a 23-page written statement and a 21-page attachment. During his verbal testimony, he spoke against bringing back the 2008 renewable energy and energy efficiency mandates, arguing they cost ratepayers a lot of money in hidden fees and that Ohio's continued growth without them, especially with solar energy, show the investment market's strong enough without them. Several environmental and business groups have taken issue with such comments in the past, presenting studies that claim former Gov. John Kasich cost the state numerous jobs and lost major contracts to adjoining states, such as Michigan, when he went along with a FirstEnergy plan for a three-year ban on such mandates a few years ago. Kasich declined to make the ban permanent once it expired, though, setting up a situation that inspired FirstEnergy and other utilities to push for House Bill 6. "We have a structure that allows the market to work. And it is working. That's why we're having such investment in solar, now," Randazzo told the committee. One of the great unknowns is the impact of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rule, which discourages states from subsidizing power plants. Passed mostly to discourage that practice with natural gas plants, it took effect last December. Some committee members now question if it could negate the money that Ohio would continue to give nuclear plants under House Bill 6 or a replacement bill. Also testifying was Evelyn Robinson, manager of state governmental affairs for PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest electrical grid operator. It consists of 13 states, including Ohio, and the District of Columbia. A four-page statement she submitted to the committee makes reference to a 2019 report in which PJM, at the request of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, determined there could have been a $1.6 billion savings across the grid operator's 13-state region by 2023, if reactors at the Davis-Besse, Perry, Three Mile Island, and Beaver Valley nuclear complexes had continued on their paths toward early closures. That's because PJM gets enough power from other sources that it is always at least 15 percent above capacity, and usually 20 percent or more. The surplus of electricity is meant to keep this part of the country from experiencing the type of rolling blackouts that California has experienced, Robinson said. ——— ©2020 The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) Visit The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) at www.toledoblade.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.