Legislation that would allow utility companies to include the cost of building nuclear power plants in rates gained approval from the Missouri House on Tuesday.
Utility companies may not currently charge Missourians for construction work in progress on nuclear projects because voters approved a ballot initiative banning the practice in 1976.
"We can live 50 years in the past, we can continue to cycle 50-year-old arguments," said Rep. John Black, R-Marshfield, the bill's sponsor, during first-round approval last week. "Or, we can move forward for the people of the state of Missouri."
Missouri will fall behind in energy production as surrounding states allow the construction of small modular reactors that will be necessary to power data centers, Black said.
"We want the construction jobs to build those plants. We want the jobs to operate those plants," Black said. "We don't want to pay the extra cost to transport that energy in from some other state."
The legislation passed the House 95-53, with most opposition coming from Democrats who said canceled nuclear power plants have cost residents billions in other states.
Currently, no small modular reactors have been built in the United States.
"This bill makes Missouri citizens pay for projects they have no say in greenlighting," said Rep. Mark Boyko, D-Kirkwood. "They take on the utility's risk that the project will have cost overruns, delays or not be needed at all, while the utility reaps all the rewards."
If the projects were proven effective, companies or venture capitalists would have already fronted the cost themselves, Boyko said.
The Missouri Public Service Commission would be responsible for determining what construction costs could be included in utility bills. If companies fail to build facilities within a reasonable time, consumers could receive refunds at the determination of the commission.
Republicans and Democrats also disagreed on the safety of nuclear power.
Rep. Doug Clemens, D-St. Ann, said he grew up near Coldwater Creek – a tributary of the Missouri River in north St. Louis County that is contaminated with radioactive waste – and has witnessed community members die of cancer.
"I'm a little personally incensed that this body has sat here and passed resolutions about removing radioactive waste, about reimbursing people for the losses to their health, and sits here and talks about creating more," Clemens said. "That's just repugnant."
Black said,: "We know from study after study the safety of a nuclear plant is documented to be better than a gas plant or a coal plant."
Black and others pointed out that, under the bill, companies would be limited to charging customers for the construction of facilities with a capacity under 600 megawatts.
HB 2122 now goes to the Senate for consideration, where it has stalled for several years.
If the Senate approves the legislation, it would go into effect in August and expire at the end of 2036.
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