Ameren-UE has filed an eight-thousand page application for permission to build and operate a second unit at its Callaway Nuclear Plant. But company president Tom Voss says it’s not a commitment to build, but it does move the process toward a decision that needs to be made in two to four years.
He says Ameren has discussed the plant with several partners because there’s no way the company can afford to build the plant on its own. He says there is "no way" the company could afford to build the plant on its own. He also says the current regulatory climate in Missouri means the plant won’t be built unless the situation changes.
The "current regulatory climate" is the Construction Work in Progress law passed in the 70s. It says utilities cannot have customers finance construction of power plants on a pay-as-you go basis. Voss says that law has to be repealed if Ameren is going to build the plant.
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