Capitol Calling

Ameren pulls plug on Callaway II

Efforts to build another nuclear power plant in Callaway County are dead, according to Ameren officials.

That's because legislators could not come to a consensus on passing legislation to allow utility companies to pass on financing costs of new power plants to consumers. It became clear yesterday that such legislation was doomed for this legislative session.

In a news release, AmerenUE announced it was calling on legislators to withdraw legislation to repeal the state's Construction Work in Progress regulation. Because of that, the company will no longer seek to build a new nuclear power plant in Callaway County.

"As we were moving forward to preserve the option for nuclear energy for our state, we stressed that we needed financial and regulatory certainty before we could begin construction," said Ameren CEO Thomas Voss in a statement. "However, the current version of the bill being debated in the Senate strips the legislation of the very provisions we needed most to move forward. As a result, AmerenUE is suspending its efforts to build a nuclear power plant in Missouri."

"While we are disappointed with the outcome of this legislative initiative, the Missouri Clean and Renewable Energy Construction Act sparked a vigorous debate about energy issues and caused everyone involved to think more deeply about energy policy," added Voss. "That debate has established a foundation for the constructive energy policy discussions we must continue to have with legislators, regulators, customers and other stakeholders to meet the energy needs of our children and grandchildren in decades to come."

Opponents of CWIP argued the move would hurt consumers and big companies. They also questioned how the legislation would alter how the Public Service Commission operates.

CWIP bill probably dead

The other piece I wrote for the Beacon today touches on the likely death of legislation aimed at repealing the state's Construction Work in Progress regulation.

That bill was meant as a way to get AmerenUE to build a new nuclear power plant in Callaway County. Opponents, however, questioned the bill's effect on ratepayers and the process of the Public Service Commission.

From the story:

"I think the parties involved are too unwilling to compromise. I think that's unfortunate," [Sen. Kurt] Schaefer said. "That's where we find ourselves at this point in time."

While three weeks are still left in the legislative session, the consensus is the differences are too great to smooth in time.

The bid to repeal CWIP was linked to the prospect of AmerenUE building a new nuclear power plant in Callaway County. Proponents said repeal would pave the way for a huge construction project creating thousands of jobs, as well as provide the state with an abundant power source.

But the bill ran into opposition from a coalition of big businesses, consumer groups and some environmentalists. Companies such as Noranda - an aluminum company based in New Madrid that's Ameren's biggest customer - said the measure would hurt its bottom line enough for it to move out of the state.

Read the rest here.

Kelly praises Schaefer's handling of CWIP bill

Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, has had a rough go of it lately in the Missouri Senate over legislation that would repeal the state's Construction Work in Progress law.

The CWIP debate has provided the freshman senator with some of his biggest exposure since entering the General Assembly. Schaefer was instrumental in producing a substitute version of the legislation to be debated on the floor.

Supporters of Sen. Delbert Scott's legislation are aiming to repeal CWIP in order to pave the way for a new nuclear power plant in Callaway County. Opponents say the measure's rate increase is bad for consumers and doesn't guarantee the plant will be built.

Schaefer has gotten into tense verbal arguments with Sen. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis County, and Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau. He was also heavily criticized in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial.

But Schaefer's received high praise from an unlikely source: state Rep. Chris Kelly. The Columbia Democrat represents an area of Boone County that's relatively close to Callaway County.

"I'm incredibly proud of my senator for how hard he's worked and how much he's done," Kelly said. "He's taken a beating on this. But he's done excellent, excellent work. I don't like everything about the bill, but I am pleased with my representation in the Missouri Senate."

"I am mostly pleased with the compentency in which he's handled it," Kelly added. "He's done great work."

While he's been a supporter of building Callaway II, Kelly is a proponent of sending the CWIP issue to the voters. He also said he wants more incentives for wind and solar energy built into the legislation.

Scott's legislation was shelved earlier this week after it became clear the measure would need more negoiations to break a filibuster.

Griesheimer raps anti-CWIP campaign

Over the weekend, opponents of legislation that would undo CWIP with the hopes of constructing a nuclear power plant in Callaway County unleashed an ad campaign.

The group was funded in part by big businesses that could see their electricity rates go up if CWIP is repealed. And it was therefore not terribly surprising that the ads sought to portray the plan negatively over the airwaves.

But the move clearly upset Sen. John Griesheimer, R-Washington, who sharply criticized the companies that helped fund the ad. He said the CWIP process thus far has been a "fiasco:"

Griesheimer's comments prompted a response from Sen. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis County:

The bill passed out of the committee 6 to 4. Lembke voted against the bill, while Griesheimer eventually voted for it.

CWIP bill heads to the Missouri Senate

Legislation that could pave the way for a new nuclear power plant in Callaway County narrowly passed the Senate Commerce Committee today.

On a 6-4 vote, the committee moved to send a substitute version of the bill out to the Senate for full debate. The substitute to Sen. Delbert Scott's bill was crafted by Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia:

Sen. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis County, said the new version of the bill looked an awful lot like the old version, which ran into serious problems in committee:

Senate committee to vote on CWIP bill

Death by Statement

Gov. Jay Nixon released a statement this morning that might spell doom this year for legislation altering the state's Construction Work in Progress law.

Lawmakers have been pushing to alter CWIP, hoping the move paves a way for a new nuclear power plant in Callaway County. The law prohibits utility companies from passing on costs to ratepayers to build power plants.

But some lawmakers - such as Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia - have been hesitant to grant Ameren's request without assurances that the plant will be build. Schaefer told me a few weeks ago that even if the utility company gets everything they want from Sen. Delbert Scott's legislation, there still isn't a firm commitment that Ameren will build Callaway II.

Today, Nixon spokesman Jack Cardetti released a statement saying that the governor "thinks it is in everyone’s best interest if Ameren continues to move forward in the federal permitting process."

“This is a two-step process that involves both procuring a license and then deciding whether to build," Cardetti said. "It is premature at this time to saddle ratepayers with potential construction costs before regulators have awarded a permit and Ameren has made the decision to build.”

The statement is significant, because Nixon can veto legislation he finds unacceptable. And the without those aforementioned benchmarks being met, it looks like CWIP legislation is dead for the time being.

CWIP alteration proposal spurs weird divide

This week in the Columbia Business Times, I look into the strange coalitions forming in reaction to the potential alterations to the state's Construction Work in Progress law.

One side features elements of the labor, business and environmental community. The other side has big corporate ratepayers, consumer groups and environmentalists wary of nuclear power.

You can read the story here.

KBIA Commentary: Energy independence is tricky, tricky, tricky

My KBIA commentary this week focuses on the challenges and controversies behind building a new nuclear power plant in Callaway County.

Here it is:

Those to Come