The Ohio Supreme Court has dismissed a complaint filed by FirstEnergy Solutions against a proposed referendum that could have killed a $1 billion bailout for two nuclear power plants in northern Ohio, Kallanish Energy reports.
FirstEnergy Solutions had argued such a bailout amounted to a tax and cannot be subjected to a voter referendum under Ohio law. The court said there was no “justiciable controversy” for it to decide.
Four of the seven justices participated in the ruling. No opinion was issued. The other three justices had recused themselves from the case.
Supporters of the referendum have filed a federal lawsuit, seeking additional time to collect signatures. That was rejected by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. That decision has been appealed to a federal appeals court.
Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts had needed to gather 265,774 signatures by the deadline from 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties to place a referendum on House Bill 6 on the November 2020 ballot. It did not get enough signatures.
House Bill 6, approved last summer by the Ohio Legislature and signed by Gov. Mike DeWine, provides nearly $1 billion to bail out the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants in northern Ohio.
Under the bill, Ohio electric customers will pay a new fee of 85 cents a month on their electric bills, with 90% of that money, or about $150 million, a year going to FirstEnergy Solutions. It would impact all utility customers in Ohio, not just FirstEnergy customers.
FirstEnergy Solutions had said it intends to close the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in 2020, and the Perry nuclear plant in 2021, unless a bailout is approved by the legislature. The nuclear plants cannot compete with cheaper natural gas and renewable energy.
The fee would be collected from 2021-2027. It would also provide $20 million a year for two coal-fired power plants.
The company has spun off from Akron-based First Energy Corp and is operating under Chapter 11 protection. FirstEnergy Solutions was the unregulated generation arm of FirstEnergy with coal and nuclear power plants. It is rebranding as Energy Harbor.
