Plans to ask Ohio voters to repeal a law granting subsidies to two nuclear power plants owned by FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. are moving ahead. State officials gave given organizers the go-ahead to start a petition drive to get the issue on the November 2020 ballot.
A group called Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts wants to put on next year's ballot a referendum repealing House Bill 6. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Aug. 29 approved summary language for the proposed referendum. The next day, on Aug. 30, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose certified 1,000 signatures of registered voters in favor of the referendum, the repeal group said.
With the approval of both offices, referendum backers have until Oct. 21 to collect 265,744 signatures of Ohio registered voters to place the issue on the November 2020 ballot.
Gov. Mike DeWine in July signed into law HB 6 will provide $150 million in annual financial support for the 908-MW Davis-Besse and 1,268-MW Perry nuclear plants owned by FirstEnergy Solutions, or FES.
The bill also provides ratepayer-backed funding for two Ohio Valley Electric Corp.-operated coal plants, one of which is in Indiana, and funnels $20 million each year to a renewable generation fund. It also lowers and freezes Ohio's renewable energy mandate at 8.5% in 2026 and ends the state's mandated energy efficiency programs by Dec. 31, 2020, or once utilities meet a 17.5% annual energy savings benchmark.
Proponents said the bill would keep much of Ohio's carbon-free generation operating and maintain thousands of jobs; some opponents said it gives certain generators an unfair advantage.
Private power plant developer Clean Energy Future recently canceled a planned gas-fired power plant in Trumbull County, Ohio, because of the legislation.
Meanwhile, a group called Ohioans for Energy Security has launched a campaign asking voters not to sign the referendum petition. An ad from the group said the repeal effort boosts Chinese financial interests and "kills Ohio jobs, harms Ohio communities and endangers our energy independence."
The repeal campaign called on Ohioans for Energy Security to pull the ads, calling them "fear-mongering." A representative for FES did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the repeal plan Sept. 3.
