Officials to reveal plans for nuclear reactor

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and energy officials are to announce plans Thursday that could include the development of another nuclear reactor in the state.

The Democratic governor's office called the plans significant for energy development and economic growth in Missouri. Nixon and officials from Ameren Missouri and Westinghouse Electric are scheduled to make the formal announcement Thursday afternoon at the Missouri Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City.

A Nixon spokesman declined to provide further details Wednesday before the planned announcement.

The state's lone existing nuclear power plant is about 25 miles northeast of the state Capitol in Callaway County and is operated by St. Louis-based Ameren Missouri. Officials twice in recent years have attempted to clear the way for construction of an additional nuclear power plant, but those efforts have bogged down in the state Legislature.

State lawmakers in 2009 considered a measure that would have let utilities seek state regulators' permission to include the financing costs for certain types of new power plants in consumer bills before the plant is operational. Last year, legislators considered a proposal to allow power companies to seek permission from the Public Service Commission to charge customers for the cost of getting an early site permit from federal regulators for a possible second nuclear power plant.

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