As reported by Kathiann M. Kowalski at Midwest Energy News, concerns regarding risks to Ohioans' pocketbooks, as well as safety, health, and environment, are mounting in the aftermath of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's (PUCO) March 31 ruling in favor of a multi-billion dollar ratepayer bailout for FirstEnergy, including its problem-plagued Davis-Besse atomic reactor.
The article quotes Tim Judson, executive director at NIRS:
The Davis-Besse nuclear power station and similar plants would particularly have trouble remaining competitive, in Judson’s view.
“Davis-Besse has a terrible operational history,” Judson said. “It’s had significant safety problems."
The plant also has “some very significant expenses that are going to need to potentially be incurred in the next few years due to some significant equipment problems,” he added.
Beyond Nuclear and Don't Waste Michigan issued a press release in response to the PUCO's bad decision, listing the numerous, large ticket capital expenses Davis-Besse faces in the near future, by its own documented admissions. (See the Word version for functioning URL links.)
The press release quotes the environmental coalition's legal counsel, Toledo attorney Terry Lodge: The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) chained and shackled Ohio ratepayers with a burdensome "Pig in a Poke" known as Davis-Besse.
One of the biggest concerns of all is the severe, and worsening, cracking of Davis-Besse's concrete containment Shield Building. Another big concern is the risky, experimental steam generator replacement project, just undergoing inspections now, two years after installation.
Beyond Nuclear and environmental allies officially intervened on both matters, and many others, it their resistance to the 20-year license extension at Davis-Besse. NRC has rubber-stamped that nonetheless.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis has also published a scathing critique of the PUCO's bailout approval. IEEFA is based in Cleveland, OH.
As reported on April 7th by Nucleonics Week, a Beyond Nuclear and Don't Waste Michigan press release detailed the numerous, large ticket expenses Davis-Besse faces in the immediate future. The most significant of these include the severely cracked, and ever worsening, concrete containment Shield Building, as well as the risky, experimental steam generator replacements.