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Sponsor calls SB 15 97 A a transparency measure requiring utilities and developers to disclose nuclear‑waste storage costs
Summary
SB 15 97 A would require electric utilities to disclose to customers any costs recovered through rates for storing nuclear waste and require developers seeking to build nuclear facilities to disclose the costs of waste storage; proponents described the bill as a transparency measure with minimal fiscal impact.
Supporters described SB 15 97 A as a narrowly focused transparency requirement that would inform Oregonians about the cost of storing nuclear waste associated with energy facilities.
The presenter (identified by the chair as Beth) said the measure requires utilities to disclose to customers how much of cost recovery on bills goes to nuclear‑waste storage and requires proposers of nuclear facilities to disclose estimated waste‑storage costs to utilities and the public. The presenter noted the fiscal impact was minimal.
Lou Frederick (identifying himself as a former state senator and long‑time science reporter) said the bill is simple and forward looking, driven by a desire to make clear what waste storage will cost and who would ultimately pay. He emphasized the bill is about transparency and said it would not affect Trojan or small experimental reactors at Reed College or Oregon State University.
Frederick recounted experience covering Hanford and nuclear‑waste cleanup efforts and said Oregon voters previously approved a 1980 initiative requiring voter approval for another plant until waste disposal is determined. He urged the committee to support the bill as a tool to provide information to voters if future nuclear facilities are proposed.
The committee closed the public hearing on SB 15 97 A; no committee action is recorded in the transcript.
