Nuclear bailout tied to bribery scandal was years in making

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A $1 billion bailout for Ohio’s two nuclear plants that’s now entangled in a state bribery scandal had little support when the idea came up three years ago. It was all but dead until the spring of last year, when the new leader of the Ohio House stepped up with a last-ditch attempt to give the plants a financial lifeline.

But that’s all on shaky ground again after federal authorities accused the powerful Republican Ohio House speaker and four associates of orchestrating a $60 million bribery scheme involving corporate money secretly funneled to them in exchange for passing the bailout.

The question for state lawmakers who are under pressure to repeal the bailout is whether they’re willing to face another divisive debate — this time under the shadow of scandal — in order to find a new way to prop up the financially strapped nuclear plants.

Here is a look at how the bailout came about and its prospects going forward.

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DIM OUTLOOK

Nuclear plants nationwide were warning four years ago that their aging reactors were in need of financial help, because they couldn't compete with cheaper natural gas-fired plants and subsidized renewable energy. It was no different in Ohio.

FirstEnergy Corp., whose subsidiary operated the Ohio plants at the time, pressed state lawmakers in 2017 to approve surcharges on electricity bills to generate about $300 million annually for its reactors. The utility’s CEO, Chuck Jones, said it was needed to protect jobs and the state's largest clean energy source, saying “this is not a bailout for FirstEnergy.”

Republicans in the Legislature blocked the proposal from moving forward. Then-Gov. John Kasich had no interest either, saying the utility needed to figure out how to keep its nuclear plants operating...