After blocking similar bills over two years, the House of Representatives voted 75 to 66 for final passage Thursday of a measure variously derided as a windfall for a major energy company and praised as a responsible first step toward stabilizing the finances of Connecticut’s last nuclear plant.
Energy and Environment
Posted inEducation, Energy & Environment, Health, Money, Politics
House sends veto-proof, bipartisan budget to Malloy
With the final flourish of a veto-proof margin, the House of Representatives voted Thursday to give final legislative passage to an overdue, bipartisan budget crafted without the direct involvement of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Posted inEconomic Development, Energy & Environment, Money
Green Bank says the budget plan would effectively shut it down
The Connecticut Green Bank – an international model for funding clean energy projects – says it would have to shut down under the latest budget proposal. The bank says it would lose essentially 100 percent of the funding it uses to leverage much larger amounts of private financing.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Oh, another wrinkle on budget deal: Millstone’s profitability
One of the non-fiscal elements of the tentative budget deal calls for the House Democratic leadership to allow a vote on a bill designed to improve the profitability of Connecticut’s last nuclear power plant, Millstone, the subject of an epic lobbying campaign by its owner, Dominion Energy.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Tentative budget raids CT electric bills, diverts clean energy funds
The tentative state budget deal would strip as much as $175 million from clean energy funds, tapping surcharges on monthly utility bills and raiding a program lauded for leveraging hundreds of millions of dollars in private investments.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
DEEP taking heat on its proposed changes to solar policy
Provisions in the Connecticut Comprehensive Energy Strategy that would drastically limit the number of solar systems people and businesses can put on their roofs and could change the payment structure for excess electricity those systems generate have riled the state’s solar industry and those who support it.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
With no plan for replacing Millstone, what are CT’s options?
Regardless of what the Connecticut legislature decides on Millstone, it won’t change some basic realities: One day the nuclear plant will close, and Connecticut doesn’t have a plan for that. The question of how to replace Millstone elicits all kinds of ideas. But parameters matter: Are we talking short-term, long-term, cleanly, at what cost to ratepayers?
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Millstone bill clears the Senate and goes to the House
A two-year political odyssey by Dominion Energy to convince the Connecticut General Assembly that its Millstone nuclear station needed new rules for selling electricity to remain economically viable neared an end Friday.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Deal struck on stabilizing profits of Millstone nuclear station
The Connecticut General Assembly and the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy have agreed in principle on bipartisan legislation authorizing state energy officials to take measures to stabilize the profitability of New England’s largest power plant, the Millstone nuclear station in Waterford.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Dominion still reluctant to open Millstone’s books
Dominion Energy signaled an intention Friday to play hardball with state energy officials by questioning the need to share financial data sought by Connecticut state agencies that are jointly assessing the economic viability of its Millstone nuclear power station, the biggest source of electricity in New England.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Inquiry opens into fiscal condition of Millstone nuclear station
After lobbying for financial relief for two years, Dominion Energy was non-committal Thursday about providing financial data sought by two state agencies tasked with assessing the financial viability of its Millstone nuclear power plant.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
On CT’s budget, it turns out there may be a nuclear option
Call it a sign of desperation or a mark of creativity. One of the unconventional revenue-raising schemes considered by legislators in pursuit of an overdue budget would have Connecticut extract millions of dollars from Dominion Energy in return for legislation boosting the profitability of electricity generated by the company’s Millstone nuclear power plant.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy hails EPA decision to tighten restrictions on smog
WASHINGTON – Gov. Dannel Malloy on Friday lauded the U.S. Environmental Agency’s reversal of its decision to delay a new rule that would lower the level of ozone emissions permitted from fossil-fuel burning, such as the exhaust from auto tailpipes and power plant smokestacks. Malloy had argued a stricter ozone rule is needed because Connecticut is polluted by emissions from other states, putting its businesses at a disadvantage and threatening the health of state residents.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
Connecticut updates goals for energy, climate change
Connecticut published a draft of its overdue comprehensive energy strategy Wednesday at a tumultuous time as the Trump administration steps away from international climate accords and the state faces the threatened loss of its biggest source of carbon-free power, the Millstone Power Station.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Millstone cool to Malloy’s ordered study of nukes’ viability
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at resolving hotly contested questions about the economic viability of the Millstone Power Station, a nuclear-powered generator of electricity crucial to Connecticut’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The plant’s owner warned it needs immediate changes to keep Millstone open.