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Oil-Natural Gas Industry Poll Shows Opposition To Nuclear Power Plant Subsidies

The American Petroleum Institute-Pennsylvania Wednesday released a new poll showing the overwhelming majority of Pennsylvania voters would oppose legislation that would force consumers in the state to pay a special fee to bailout nuclear power companies.

American Petroleum Institute-Pennsylvania urged members of the Pennsylvania state legislature to reject any measure that could raise costs for consumers and hurt workers across the state.

[Note: There are no specific proposals pending that would price the environmental and climate benefits of electricity produced by zero emission nuclear power plants in Pennsylvania. The Nuclear Energy Caucus in the General Assembly is looking into a variety of issues related to nuclear power.]

“Despite the fact that half of the voters across the state think electricity prices are too high, some are asking legislators in Harrisburg to force Pennsylvania consumers to pay a special fee to bail out nuclear power companies,” said Executive Director Stephanie Catarino Wissman. “Picking winners and losers in the electricity markets by providing bailouts to nuclear power at the expense of Pennsylvania consumers would diminish the benefits that clean-burning natural gas has brought to Pennsylvania workers and consumers. Moving forward, the legislature should reject any measure that could raise costs for consumers and hurt workers across the state.”

Key poll results:

-- 84 percent of voters agree that Pennsylvania consumers should not have to pay a special fee to bailout Exelon’s nuclear power plants;

-- 84 percent of voters oppose legislation charging consumers a special fee to fund Exelon’s nuclear power plants;

-- 77 percent of voters agree that the electricity market should be based on the marketplace, not special treatment for one corporation; and

-- 60 percent of voters believe that electricity prices are lower with competition, not government intervention.

The poll results were released at a press conference call on Wednesday morning. The opening statement from the media call is available on the American Petroleum Institute’s website.

Reaction: Clean Jobs For Pennsylvania

The Clean Jobs for Pennsylvania coalition issued this statement in response to the API-Natural Gas industry poll results— “Our coalition is calling for a solution that levels the playing field between nuclear and other clean energy sources so that they continue to provide clean energy and jobs to Pennsylvanians.

“It’s not surprising that poll questions that contain negative mischaracterizations of what is needed to keep nuclear plants in operation, would lead to such skewed results. It is also not surprising the American Petroleum Institute, a D.C. special interest group, came out with a poll that expressed a bias for fracking in its results.

"If the response from our local community is any indication, there is widespread, passionate support for nuclear energy in and around Central Pennsylvania. Since our launch in early June, we have interacted with thousands of people at many different events who tell us they are eager to see a public discussion about ways in which we can keep nuclear power as an essential part of Pennsylvania's energy mix,” said York County Commissioner Chris Reilly, co-chairperson of Clean Jobs for Pennsylvania. “They care about the jobs. They care about a clean energy future. And they care about the reliability nuclear provides. They want to see our state government find creative solutions to keep TMI up and running for years to come."

The Clean Jobs for Pennsylvania is a coalition advocating for continued operations of Three Mile Island Generating Station and nuclear power plants across Pennsylvania, has seen a groundswell of grassroots support for nuclear facilities that runs counter.

In just over two months, Clean Jobs for Pennsylvania has attracted almost 700 members: including 8 mayors, 5 county commissioners, 6 township supervisors, 8 councilmen or women, and hundreds of concerned business owners and citizens. The group has over 10,000 social media followers.

(Photo: Exelon’s Three Mile Island in Dauphin County.) (Crisci Associates works with Exelon.)

NewsClips:

Three Mile Island At Center Of Energy Debate: Let Struggling Plants Close Or Save Them

Op-Ed: Three Mile Island’s Shutdown Will Reverberate Across The Local Economy

Op-Ed: Three Mile Island And What Exelon Won’t Tell You, Erie Epstein

66 Percent Of Nation’s 100-GW Nuclear Power Fleet Is In Economic Trouble

Nuclear Power Plant Woes Imperil National Security Report Says

AP: After Failure Of SC Nuke Plant, Backers Seek Federal Aid

States Using Social Cost Of Carbon In Energy Decisions, Despite Trump’s Views

Op-Ed: Nuclear Energy May Soon Be Free From Its Tangled Regulatory Web

State Giving Out Potassium Iodide Pills Near Nuclear Plants

Free Potassium Iodide Pills For Residents Near State’s 5 Nuclear Plants