Missouri lawmakers just took a big step toward letting utilities bill customers for nuclear reactors long before the lights ever flick on.
The Missouri House this week approved a proposal that would let regulated utilities start charging ratepayers for the cost of building certain nuclear projects while construction is still underway. Backers say it is the only way new reactors pencil out financially. Critics say it is a risky deal that puts everyday Missourians on the hook if things go sideways.
The House passed House Bill 2122 on a 95-53 vote and sent it to the Missouri Senate, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
What the Bill Would Allow
House Bill 2122, branded the "Missouri Nuclear Clean Power Act," would give electric companies the option to include construction work in progress, or CWIP, in customer rate bases for qualifying projects. The provision would apply to clean baseload plants that are 600 megawatts or smaller and not yet in commercial operation as of Aug. 28, 2026. Those facilities would be allowed to recover certain construction costs from customers before the plants are actually producing power.
The Missouri Public Service Commission would decide which construction costs can be passed through to ratepayers, and the bill specifies that base-rate recoveries tied to those charges would be subject to refund. The authority to use CWIP would expire on Dec. 31, 2036, unless the commission finds good cause to extend it through 2046, according to the summary from the Missouri House.
Backers Say It Will Spur Projects and Reliability
Supporters argue the change is essential if Missouri wants in on the next wave of nuclear power, including next-generation and small modular reactors. Without earlier cost recovery, they say, projects will struggle to get financing and the state could fall behind as others move ahead with new nuclear builds.
Utilities and some economic development boosters contend that being able to collect financing costs earlier can lower overall borrowing costs and make Missouri more attractive to big power users shopping for long-term, reliable, low-carbon electricity. Public filings and recent coverage indicate Ameren has been exploring how to grow its nuclear portfolio over the coming decades, as previously reported by KBIA.
Opponents Warn Customers Will Shoulder the Risk
Democrats and consumer advocates see it very differently. They argue that HB 2122 would effectively draft Missourians into financing massive infrastructure projects they never directly approved, with little protection if costs spiral.
Opponents told lawmakers on the House floor and in interviews that customers could end up paying for delays, cost overruns or even projects that ultimately get scrapped, according to St. Louis Public Radio. Recent coverage from The Beacon notes that advocates have already estimated earlier utility-law changes could add more than $1,100 a year to a typical household’s bills and recalls that Missouri voters banned CWIP in 1976 after problems tied to the Callaway nuclear plant.
Next Steps and Timeline
The measure now heads to the Missouri Senate, where the same tug-of-war over costs and risk is likely to play out again. If the bill becomes law, its CWIP provisions would apply to projects that are not in commercial operation as of Aug. 28, 2026.
Under the bill, the Public Service Commission would decide what construction costs utilities are allowed to recover and could require refunds where appropriate. The summary also repeats that any such recoveries are subject to refund and that the temporary CWIP authority would sunset at the end of 2036 unless extended by the commission, according to the Missouri House.
For customers in Jefferson City, the St. Louis region and the rest of the state, the Senate debate in the coming weeks will decide whether Missouri rewrites a decades-old rule on who pays, and when, for big-ticket power projects.
