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FEC Board
Endorses Senate Bill 50; Backs Future Nuclear Energy Option
February,
2011
At its December 30,
2010, board meeting, the board of directors of Farmers' Electric Cooperative
unanimously endorsed supporting Missouri Senate Bill 50, which provides electric
utilities in the state with the option of constructing a second nuclear power plant.
The FEC endorsement follows Governor
Jay Nixon's November 19 news conference at the headquarters of Associated Electric
Cooperative, in Springfield, in which he fully endorsed the construction of a new nuclear plant.
Legislation supporting the construction of
the power plant has been filed by Senator Mike Kehoe and Representative Jeannie Riddle,
as well as other members of the Missouri General Assembly.
Electrical growth in rural Missouri has
been averaging two percent a year over the last decades. Studies show that additional baseload
generation will be needed in rural Missouri by the year 2023.
The Nuclear Option
Farmers' part of team effort to preserve Missouri's energy future
What if someone suddenly said you could no longer eat 80% of the food you need to eat to fuel your body?
Farmers' Electric Cooperative is now in a group seeking to avoid the surprise should 80% of what is used to produce power in Missouri
- coal - become regulated to the point where it is prohibitively expensive to generate power for its members. The goal is to keep
members' electric bills as low as possible. Here is what the group is doing.
Who is in this group?
It's something that doesn’t happen frequently. The state's cooperatives,
investor-owned and municipal utilities have joined forces in support of preserving the nuclear energy option. The group is made up of
Farmers' power supplier, Associated Electric Cooperative, and its statewide organization, AMEC; the Missouri Public Utility Alliance, Empire, KCP&L, Ameren Missouri and the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission.
What does the group want?
Simply put, the group wants to explore the option of building an additional nuclear power plant on the same site as the current one. The regulatory
process of building such a plant is very, very lengthy, so what the group is doing is essentially getting in line so that, if the decision is made to build, it has advanced along the process.
Why Nuclear?
The federal government's push for carbon legislation or regulation threatens the economic viability of Missouri's coal plants.
Farmers' power supplier has already spent $1.4 billion to scrub 90% of air emissions from its coal plants. The EPA is moving the bulls-eye again to mandate removal of the remaining 10%. That would likely cost another $1.4 billion. Is it worth it if, after all that work is done and money is spent, the EPA could move the bulls-eye again? Nuclear power is the only technology outside of natural gas that could meet the emerging federal standards and serve the
state's baseload needs, which are expected to row in the next 20 years.
Why Not Wind?
Stick your head out the window. It's nearly certain the wind isn't blowing fast enough to generate the power to meet the baseload. And even if it is right now,
there's a good chance it won't be tomorrow or the next day. The point is, wind (and solar and biomass) is an unreliable power source. Unless you are prepared to deal with random blackouts, wind cannot be used to meet baseload needs.
Baseload vs. Peak
When we talk about "baseload generation" or "baseload
needs," we're talking about the amount of electricity needed to serve the
"all-the-time" power needs of the population. As an analogy, your body needs a baseload of water to survive. Anything above that baseload is extra. In the power world, that
"extra" is called the peak. The peak is the demand for electricity on especially hot or especially cold days. Keeping with the water analogy, the
"peak" is when you exercise, for example. You need more water than, just as consumers need more power during the peak.
How much is this going to cost me?
That's the real question for Farmers' members. Preserving the nuclear energy options would cost you pennies a year. If and when a plant is built, it would increase costs, though how much has yet to be determined. The fact is, electric bills are going to go up. With the current
legislative and regulatory environment, there's no getting around that. Electricity generated with nuclear energy is projected to cost you the least of any potential source in the time frame when the plant is needed. In other words, yes, your bill will be higher if a plant is built, but potentially much less than what it would be if the plant is not built.
What are the details?
State Sen. Mike Kehoe has introduced a bill, SB 50, that would allow this group effort work. Right now, investor-owned utilities cannot recover the costs
associated with building a new plant in their rates until the plant is operational. That and takes a long time, extremely unlikely. Would you lend money to someone and not even begin getting paid back for 20 years? Sen.
Kehoe's bill would provide a very limited exception so that the investor-owned partners in the group could begin getting paid back after
what's called an early site permit, or ESP, is issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Consumers would not pay a dime unless and until the permit is issued.
What are the Benefits?
There are many. First, construction of the plant would create jobs. A lot of jobs. And not just those working on building the plant. Other Missouri companies would make parts and material for the plant, which would ensure employment for thousands. And operating the plant would create jobs, too. This employment trickles down to
housing, retail, and other sectors of the economy that benefit from the
employed. On top of that, by the time a new nuclear unit is operational, it is expected to be the lowest cost source of electricity. Think of it as diversifying a stock portfolio. Doing so minimizes your risk.
That's does not impact the already strained Missouri state budget.
What can I do?
Contact your state elected representatives and urge them to support Senate Bill 50. A House Bill will be introduced soon that matches SB 50. are, go to
www.house.mo.gov or www.senate.mo.gov. On each
home page is a feature called "Legislator Look-up." By typing in your ZIP code, you can find your elected representatives.
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