- Ohio's state House passes a bill approving a $1B financial rescue of the state's two nuclear power reactors that also will scale back requirements that utilities generate more power from wind and solar.
- The Davis-Besse and Perry reactors are owned by FirstEnergy Solutions, which has said it would shut the money-losing plants in 2020 and 2021 unless the state provides financial assistance; FirstEnergy Solutions is a bankrupt unit of power company FirstEnergy (FE -0.6%).
- While other states such as Illinois, New York and New Jersey also have acted to compensate nuclear plants to keep them operating for their zero-carbon value, none have enacted programs as far-reaching as the Ohio plan.
- The bill, which passed the state Senate last week, now goes to Gov. DeWine, who has expressed support for the legislation.
- Opponents led by the natural gas industry say they plan to ask voters to overturn the legislation in a statewide referendum next year.