Debate about nuclear power returns to legislature

Chicago Tribune

There are no nuclear power plants in Indiana, but lawmakers are expected to wrestle next year with whether to offer an incentive that could boost prospects for building reactors in the state.

Members of the legislature's Regulatory Flexibility Committee are scheduled to discuss nuclear energy in Indiana on Sept. 22, and panel's co-chairmen -- Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne, and Sen. Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis -- have already staked out opposing positions.

The debate centers on whether utilities should be able to charge customers for the cost of building a nuclear plant as soon as construction begins, rather than having to wait until the reactor is operating. Current state law only allows utilities building so-called "clean coal" power plants -- those that release less carbon dioxide -- to charge customers for construction that is still in progress.