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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Who Pays For New Power Plants in MO? Debate Heats Up in Jeff City

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Tuesday, February 10, 2009   

Jefferson City, MO - Missouri's energy debate is about to go nuclear. Today, lawmakers wrangle over Senate Bill 228, which would overturn a 1976 law that keeps utilities from charging customers for a power plant that is not yet built. The debate has been triggered by St. Louis-based AmerenUE's application to build a second mid-Missouri nuclear reactor, with a price tag of $6 billion.

Consumer groups say they're leery of the costs. Bob Quinn, executive director, Missouri Association for Social Welfare, believes ratepayers should not absorb the risk.

"This is just another, very large step in that same direction of putting the risk on the ratepayers, and taking it off the people who run the company and make the profit from the company."

Industry executives contend that billion-dollar facilities aren't affordable without recouping some costs as the plants are built. They also point out that the project would provide thousands of new jobs in Callaway County. Several senators, however, have raised concerns about overturning a voter-approved law.

To Kathleen Logan-Smith, executive director, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, SB 228 is like giving utility companies a blank check, while many of its customers are struggling to make ends meet in the recession.

"We're going to be giving them money that's going to cover that, when they get it up and running. When it's powering our light bulbs, we're going to be paying for it. So, why pay for it in advance?"

The hearings are scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Although the bill allows for other renewable energy companies to take part, AmerenUE has been the primary force behind it.



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