3:22 PM, Jan 26, 2012 by Jason Clayworth
A legislative proposal outlining steps for MidAmerican Energy to build an Iowa nuclear plant – one of last year’s most controversial bills – was resurrected, tweaked and approved in a bipartisan vote this afternoon by a Senate subcommittee.
Critics were angered.
“The nuclear industry and MidAmerican Energy specifically would have us believe that nuclear power is clean, safe and cheap when in actuality it is very dangerous and expensive,” said Mike Carberry, an Iowa member of Friends of the Earth, an environmental group based in Washington, D.C.
House File 561 outlines how the Iowa Utilities Board should proceed with rate-making principles should a rate-regulated public utility move forward with plans to build a nuclear plant.
Advocates say the legislation is needed so that Iowa can move forward with diversifying its energy sources and averting a potential energy crisis.
“This bill represents just another piece of that journey to create a more diverse energy sources for our citizens of the state of Iowa,” said John Gilliland, senior vice president of government relations of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.
The bill does not call for any tax or rate increases but critics contend that it shifts overwhelming financial risks onto ratepayers who could potentially be stuck paying millions of dollars in extra costs.
American is considering a 540-megawatt nuclear plant to be built at an unspecified Iowa site. The company expects its cost share to be $1 billion to $2 billion.
Groups like the AARP say the costs could rise substantially.
Mark Cooper of the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School released a report last year that suggested the costs could be as much as $50 a month to the average customer, which MidAmerican rejected. MidAmerican estimates an extra cost of $7.60 a month.
The bill passed the House last year but failed to advance in the Senate. A Senate Commerce subcommittee today revised the bill to allow the utilities board more ability to determine if a plan is prudent, allowing it to reject a request for ratemaking principles.
Critics were not satisfied, noting a recent memo from the state’s utilities division that says the proposal would shift nearly all construction, licensing and permitting risks to customers.
Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said his feelings on the bill are mixed. MidAmerican hasn’t raised rates in nearly two decades, an indication that they are responsible. In addition, the bill would help the state tap into roughly $500 million of federal money available to states exploring nuclear expansions, he noted.
Sen. Pat Ward, R-West Des Moines, and Sen. Tom Rielly, D-Oskaloosa. expressed similar thoughts. The bill unanimously passed the three-person subcommittee.
It now heads to the full committee, where it will be considered Tuesday. The revised bill must pass the full Senate and House before it is eligible to be signed by Gov. Terry Branstad.
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