News
Nuclear Plants Want Court to Stop Vote on Financial Rescue
By: Associated Press
Posted on:
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The owner of Ohio’s two nuclear power plants is asking the state Supreme Court to block a proposed statewide vote that aims to overturn a financial rescue for the plants.
FirstEnergy Solutions argues in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the financial rescue approved by state lawmakers in July can’t be overturned by voters because it amounts to a tax.
The company says the Ohio Constitution prohibits tax levies from being overturned by voters.
Opponents of the $1.5 billion rescue package for the nuclear plants and two coal-fired plants are collecting signatures to put the issue on the ballot in November 2020.
The financial rescue adds a new fee on every electricity bill in the state and scales back requirements that utilities generate more power from wind and solar.