Guest column: Stop ratepayer robbery and oppose nuclear reactor bills
House Bill 1007 and Senate Bills 423 and 424 would use Indiana's electric customers as the majority financers of dubious, multibillion-dollar nuclear power schemes called small modular reactors (SMRs). For instance, House Bill 1007 offers tax credits to these companies, taxes that should be used to fund schools and essential services. Clearly, the needs of power-hungry data centers are being prioritized over the needs of our communities. During session hearings, I listened as lawmakers, undeterred in their loyalty to monopoly electric companies and private corporations, repeatedly declared that 'Indiana will lose out, get left behind, forfeit business' if we don't incentivize SMRs, delivered with an urgency that would make a snake oil salesman blush.
All three of these bills gut regulatory oversight, allowing utilities to begin charging customers for SMR projects before applying for approval, without ever applying for approval, or even if the project never breaks ground. No worries, though, because, according to an author of SB 423 and 424, ratepayers should rest assured that the IURC will not allow any unreasonable cost requests. This is laughably cold comfort when the IURC has consistently approved utility rate hikes, regardless of heart-wrenching public testimony from consumers begging for relief while our electric companies report significant profits.
We cannot ignore the underlying subtext of these bills: they may ultimately delay coal plant retirements and give the IURC authority to deny closures to serve data centers. The coal-burning NIPSCO Michigan City Generating Station (MCGS) is scheduled to shutter in 2028. Still, its fate and the millions of tons of toxic coal ash on the lakefront remain uncertain. Last week's settlement agreement between NIPSCO and LaPorte County commissioners included the prospect of 'a combined cycle gas turbine or gas peaker generating plant or locating battery energy storage systems or other energy technologies at the site.' This legislation could easily exploit this settlement and roll back the MCGS closure and other pending retirements, including the RM Schahfer Generating Station in Wheatfield and beyond.
Basic facts should raise common sense suspicions about these bills: there are no operating SMRs in the U.S. today. Even if proven workable, SMRs would take 8-10 years to become operational, while renewable energy options like wind, solar, battery, and geothermal are deployable today. These projects are not cost-effective. For example, NuScale's SMR project, developed for a municipal utility in Utah and Idaho, saw costs balloon to $9.3 billion by 2023, leading the utilities to exit the project. SMRs produce even more waste than a traditional nuclear plant, which is toxic, radioactive, and lasts for thousands of years. This issue could exacerbate the cumulative impact of pollution in already-burdened regions like Northwest Indiana. As we have seen in our area with BP Whiting's recent benzene leak, state agencies fail to provide adequate oversight, enforcement, and emergency communications on industrial incidents and violations.
Indiana monopoly utilities and data-driven corporations are acting like schoolyard bullies, with our lawmakers acting as henchmen, taking advantage of our communities, environment, and climate for corporate gain. It is past time to stop state-sanctioned ratepayer robbery and demand a just and equitable transition from fossil fuels. Join us in contacting your legislators and opposing these bills.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Oklo Inc. (OKLO) Is A 'Very Good' Speculative Play, Says Jim Cramer
We recently published . Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) is a nuclear power company that specializes in small modular reactors (SMR). Its shares have gained a whopping 231% year-to-date, with the strong share price performance also shifting Cramer's views about the stock. While earlier during the year, Cramer was skeptical about Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO), he now believes it is a good speculative play to have in one's portfolio, provided other, non-speculative stocks are also present. Here are his recent thoughts about the nuclear company: 'Well, I've got to tell you, I actually liked them but they were people who wished that they had more contracts. And they referenced the federal government, and you know, they didn't, I thought it I was good. I happen to like nuke and they've got a very, they have a very coherent nuke thing for people who are into speculation, they're a good spec. . .yeah it's a very good spec.' Previously, Cramer discussed Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO)'s share price performance: 'Until this market, I found it very hard to recommend anything… because historically, parabolic moves tend to explode in your face. But you know what? I violated my rule for this market simply because the moves are too big and the opportunities too frequent to pass on all of them. I don't want you to miss making some big money because of a view that might no longer be relevant. Let's take some stocks. Copyright: vencavolrab78 / 123RF Stock Photo Take Oklo, okay. You might have seen them on TV today. Here's a company that I'm asked about every couple of weeks, one that's working on new nuclear technology. I felt that the stock's parabolic run from $21 to $31 was just too steep for me, even as I'm a huge believer in nuclear. Finally, I switched my view and told people to buy it regardless of the parabola because it has just so much going for it. Today, Oklo announced an integrated power solution for data centers, might be worth billions to shareholders. It's a turnkey solution no one else has. The stock has now doubled since I waived my parabola ban, doubled.' While we acknowledge the potential of OKLO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
What are President Trump's approval ratings? See what Indiana thinks of his performance
President Donald Trump's approval ratings nationally are in the red, but in about half of the states, including Indiana, more people approve than disapprove of his job performance. While Trump's approval rating nationally remains historically low, a look at state-by-state survey results show a more complicated picture. Here is what we know: Trump's approval rating is above water in 27 states, according to an Aug. 12 update from Morning Consult, which gathers polls over the course of three months to get a look at state-level data among registered voters. The number of states who approve of Trump is unchanged from July's update. Morning Consult found that Trump is most popular in Wyoming, where 66% of voters approve of his job performance, and least popular in Vermont, where 64% disapprove. His approval is net negative in two states with gubernatorial races this fall: New Jersey and Virginia, according to Morning Consult. In Texas, 53% of voters approve of Trump's performance while 44% disapprove. In California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to counter changes in Texas' redistricting plan, 41% approve of Trump's job peformance while 56% disapprove. California is Trump's seventh worst rating among the states, according to Morning Consult. According to Morning Consult, 51% of Hoosiers approve of Trump while 45% disapprove. Despite recent "No Kings" and "Good Trouble" protests, Indiana is one of the 27 states where Trump's approval ratings are more positive than not. Story continues after photo gallery. RealClearPolitics Poll Average shows Trump's approval rating dipping throughout the first few weeks of July before rising toward the end of the month. Aggregated polls by the New York Times show a similar trend. As of Jan. 27, Trump had a +6.2 percentage point approval rating, but as of March 13, that flipped to slightly negative, the RealClearPolitics graphics show. His approval rating fell lowest on April 29 around Trump's 100-day mark to 7.2 percentage points. It came close to that low again on July 22 and 23 at -7.1 percentage points, as the controversy over Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted pedophile, carried into its third week. As of Aug. 12 Trump's average approval rating margin, according to RealClearPolitics, is -5.4 percentage points. The approval margin according to the New York Times aggregator on Aug. 12 is -8 percentage points. A historical analysis by Gallup shows Trump's approval ratings in July of his first years in office — both as the 45th and 47th presidents — are lower than those of any other modern president at the same time in their administrations. In a Gallup poll conducted from July 7-21, 37% approved of Trump's job performance. Here's how that compares to other presidents in July of their first year of their term, according to Gallup:
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Is NuScale Power a buy after recent volatility?
Key Points NuScale Power is a money losing nuclear power upstart. The company is working to build small scale modular nuclear reactors. NuScale Power is making solid progress, but there is still a lot of uncertainty to consider. 10 stocks we like better than NuScale Power › Shares of NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) have been as low as roughly $7 a share over the past 52 weeks. They have risen as high as $51 or so. And in between those two extremes there was a nearly 58% drawdown, even though the stock is up a whopping 400% over the past year. That's a lot of volatility! Clearly this stock is only appropriate for more aggressive investors, but is it a buy today for even that group? Here's some facts to consider. What does NuScale Power do? Most of NuScale Power's revenues today come from consulting work for Fluor, a large construction company. Fluor also happens to be a large investor in NuScale Power. The consultation services that NuScale is offering relate to a project being considered by RoPower, a Romanian power company. And this all ties back to NuScale because RoPower is lined up to be the first customer for NuScale Power's small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). Manufacturing SMRs is what NuScale Power is really attempting to do. It is an interesting technology that would, effectively, take existing nuclear power plant technology and scale it down. It's a huge opportunity. SMRs would be made in a factory setting, making them easier and less expensive to build. Moreover, they would incorporate the most modern safety approaches, reducing risk. And they would be small enough to be easily moved around and placed where they were needed, including relatively close to population centers. SMRs could be a game changer for nuclear power. And this opportunity is hitting at roughly the same time as a massive uptick in demand for electricity. In the U.S. alone, electricity demand is expected to increase 55% between 2020 and 2040. That number doesn't do this shift justice. You need to compare that 55% jump to the fact that demand only rose 9% between 2000 and 2020. This is a huge change and SMRs could easily be a big part of meeting this growing demand. Why is NuScale so volatile? That's the story behind NuScale Power, and it is a good one. But Wall Street has a bad habit of getting a story in its teeth and running with it to the point where the story looks like it can never live up to the stock price. Given the huge rise in NuScale Power's shares, that seems like it may be the case here. And that big 58% drawdown shows how quickly investor sentiment can turn if there's a change in Wall Street's perception of a stock like NuScale. The problem here is that NuScale is losing money and it will likely continue losing money for years to come. It is really just building out its business at this point. To highlight that point, RoPower is lined up to be its first customer but it isn't actually a customer just yet. If RoPower decides not to use NuScale Power's SMRs then NuScale's stock would likely crater. Even if RoPower gives the project the green light, NuScale Power still has to build commercial SMRs. It hasn't actually done that at any scale just yet, so going from zero production to supplying RoPower with six units in a timely fashion is a pretty important test. If NuScale fails the test its shares are, you guessed it, likely to crater. To be fair, inking the first customer is likely to be an important step that will lead to additional customers. But there is a lot up in the air right now even though there is a lot of opportunity. The problem for investors is that the huge price advance in NuScale Power seems to be pricing in a lot of good news that may or may not come to pass. NuScale Power is not appropriate for most investors All in, NuScale Power is likely to interest a very small number of investors at this point. First, you need to be willing to take an aggressive investment approach. Second, you need to believe, strongly, that the best case outcome is going to be the outcome. And, third, you probably need to be willing to invest for a long time period, given the massive price advance over the past year. In other words, the volatility here suggests that most investors will be better off watching from afar. Should you buy stock in NuScale Power right now? Before you buy stock in NuScale Power, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and NuScale Power wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $660,783!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,122,682!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,069% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025 Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is NuScale Power a buy after recent volatility? was originally published by The Motley Fool
