This summer, a new law will go into effect, and it may mean you pay a higher electric bill — money that will go toward development of nuclear power.
People who get power from Dominion Energy or Appalachian Power may soon see their monthly bills increase. That's because of a new law introduced by Senator Dave Marsden, a Democrat from Fairfax County. Here's Senator Creigh Deeds of Charlottesville asking Marsden about what the money will be going towards.
"The costs of evaluation, design, engineering, federal approvals and licensing, environmental analysis and permitting, early site permitting, equipment and procurement and authorized rate of return will all be passed on to the consumer before anything happens," asked Deeds.
“I believe that is correct," Marsden replied. "There is a certain amount of risk here. But I have faith in American technology, and we need to get moving on this."
Not everyone wants to get moving on this.
"Small modular reactors, which is what they’re taking a huge gamble on, have never been proven to provide energy for our homes and businesses," says Tim Cywinski at the Sierra Club. "That's problematic policy because we could suffer increased electric bills for something that may never produce any power."
The new law will go into effect this summer, although the utility company would still need to seek permission from state regulators before increasing your power bill.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
