The Cost to Ohio of its Four Nuclear Reactors

A reader sent us a link to an article that was posted on a website called www.freepress.org out of Columbus. The article is titled How Swing State Ohio Got Nuked. The theme of the article is that the cost of the state's four nuclear reactors is hurting Ohio economically. This is a quote from the article:

The state suffers some of the nation's highest and most unpredictable electric costs for four simple reasons: the Davis-Besse, Perry, Zimmer and Beaver Valley 2 nuclear plants.

Davis-Besse, near Toledo, is world-famous for a leak of boric acid that ate through a six-inch stainless steel reactor pressure vessel, bringing northern Ohio to the brink of a Chernobyl-scale catastrophe. Perry, east of Cleveland, suffered billions in construction cost over-runs, and is the only US nuke to have been damaged by an earthquake. Zimmer, on the Ohio River, was allegedly more than 95% complete when massive design and construction flaws forced its hugely expensive 1980s conversion to coal. Beaver Valley 2, near Pittsburgh, has run up even more in overages.

To recoup their radioactive losses, Ohio utilities rammed a 1999 "deregulation" bill through the legislature that has thus far cost ratepayers at least $10 billion, and counting. The vast bulk of the money has gone to repay "stranded costs," corporate code for sunk debt reactor owners don't want to eat. Had that money gone to increased efficiency and renewable technologies, Ohio’s economy would be on a very different footing.

The article points out that Ohio has lost business opportunities as a result of our electric rate structure. Here is a quote from the article:

On Friday, February 22, a powerful group of international steel investors announced they were pulling Ohio out of the running for a new high-tech production plant. Some 500 jobs will now go elsewhere. The investors blamed unstable power prices. "If you had to rank from clarity on the utility situation, Ohio would not rank very high," said one.

Check out the article and draw your own conclusions. We think you will find it interesting.

Thanks to reader Phyllis Bernel for sending us this article.

Surprise, Surprise, First Energy's CEO Doesn't Like Strickland's Energy Proposals

Well, this should come as no surprise. First Energy's CEO doesn't want anyone or anything to stop Ohio from adopting a system where the so-called "free market" will set electric rates. Of course, in other states that have adopted such systems there have been huge increases in electric bills.

Because of that concern Governor Ted Strickland wants to adopt a new energy policy for Ohio. Strickland's policy would, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer story on First Energy's opposition to Strickland's proposal, undo deregulation, encourage conservation, and mandate renewable energy. First Energy wants to be able to sell electric at the highest price the market will bear.

Although First Energy's CEO is mouthing platitudes about competition lowering electric prices, the PD article notes that for the last two years FE has said that when deregulation arrives rates would go up. The simple fact is that we can't count on First Energy to protect Ohio consumers from sharp price hikes for electricity.

You can link to the PD article by clicking on this entry's title.