INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers say more options are needed to meet the state's power grid demands.
House Bill 1007 would establish a framework for investment in nuclear energy.
However, residents and renewable energy advocates are concerned that this investment could lead to higher electric bills.
“Put the risk where it belongs — on investors, on deep-pocketed big tech companies, on monopoly utility companies — and not on working-class families struggling to pay their bills on a day-to-day basis,” Kewin Olson with Citizens Action Coalition said. “This bill will lead to significant rate increases on customers with little to nothing to show in the way of provision of service. Ratepayers pay for service, investors pay for risk.”
Those were strong words from the Citizen Action Coalition. They say when other states have tried to bring nuclear energy online, ratepayers end up footing the bill.
However, according to the state's energy secretary, Indiana is retiring power plants faster than it is replacing them, which could jeopardize the state's energy production. That’s why her office supports this bill.
She feels that the rate payers have protection and that these developments are needed.
“This bill is really the foundation for us to bring much-needed generation to the state of Indiana,” Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources Suzanne Jaworowski said. “It attracts advanced nuclear energy, which is the future of energy. It is sustainable, affordable, reliable, and resilient.”
Building a nuclear power plant is costly, even for small reactors.
While no specific numbers were discussed, estimates suggest that building a nuclear reactor could cost between $2 billion and $3 billion. The bill would allow power companies to recover development costs through rate increases.
Concerned citizen Christopher Noris, who drove from Evansville to oppose the legislation, expressed his worries.
"Our electric rates have been the highest in the state since 2007. We can't afford anymore,” he said. "$9 billion price tags can be passed on to customers even if the project fails or isn't approved."
However, Rep. Edmond Soliday, the author of the bill and chair of the House Utilities, Energy, and Telecommunications Committee, believes action is necessary to prevent Indiana from being left behind.
“Our parents and our grandparents built our infrastructure — electricity, roads, pipes, water — and it's wearing out. Now it's our turn,” Soliday said.
Before any rate increases can be implemented, companies must provide proof of the project development costs to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
The bill did not pass out of committee but is scheduled for a vote next week.
