Kehoe introduces early nuclear plant permit bill

State Sen. Mike Kehoe has filed a bill allowing AmerenMissouri and its consortium of for-profit and rural electric cooperative utilities to have ratepayers pay for the costs of seeking an early site permit to build a second nuclear reactor in Callaway County.

Kehoe's action came Wednesday, the next-to-last day that state senators could introduce bills for this year's legislative session - and 51 weeks after a similar bill received a marathon hearing before a Senate committee that never held another meeting. Subsequent efforts died on the last day of the session.

"The ESP bill I filed is identical to the ESP components in last year's May 13th compromise," the Jefferson City Republican said, "with all the consumer protections, and the clawback for customers to get their money back if a plant's not built."

Kehoe's proposal would allow an electric company to recover, over no more than six years, up to $45 million of "prudently-incurred expenditures" the company spent to win an early site permit from the NRC.

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