Gov. Dannel Malloy predicted Monday that the highly controversial "Millstone tax'' on the state's nuclear power plants will not be approved.
Instead, Malloy said a key legislative committee this week would approve an electricity generation tax that is closer to his idea than the Millstone tax that would charge the nuclear plants about $330 million per year.
Malloy's proposed tax is much smaller, at about $33 million per year for Millstone. The nuclear operators were originally opposed to Malloy's plan when it was unveiled, but that was before the legislature's energy committee voted 12 to 9 to approve a tax that would be 10 times higher on Millstone. Malloy predicts that the legislature's tax-writing finance committee this week will approve a tax plan much closer to his original proposal.
"I don't see that there is the political desire to tax one purveyor of energy by $300-plus-million,'' Malloy told The Hartford Courant's editorial board Monday. "I think in the coming days, when the appropriate committees act, you're going to see something much closer to the tax that I've proposed than the tax that has been proposed by the energy folks [on the committee].''
In February, Malloy proposed an electric generation tax of two-tenths of a penny per kilowatt hour, which would have generated $58.4 million in each of the next two years from all generators in the state. Millstone would be a portion of that number.
"I think it's possible you'll see a slight uptick in that number as a compromise,'' Malloy said of his two-tenths of a cent rate.
Regarding the Millstone tax, Malloy said, "I never supported that tax. That didn't come from me.''
In a private conversation recently with Millstone officials at his state Capitol office, Malloy told the plant operators that they should open up their books to the general public.
"I'll tell you exactly what I said: 'you ran around here like your hair was on fire when I proposed a two-tenths of one cent tax,' '' Malloy said of his talks with Millstone executives. "It somewhat undercut your argument when there was a much larger tax. My advice to them was to become much more transparent in their dealings with the state.''
The two influential co-chairs of the legislature's energy committee, Sen. John Fonfara of Hartford and Rep. Vickie Nardello of Prospect, both voted in favor of the Millstone tax. Rep. Terry Backer, a Stratford Democrat who is one of the most knowledgeable lawmakers on energy issues, and Sen. Kevin Witkos of Canton, the ranking Senate Republican on the committee, were among those who voted "no.''
Nardello agreed that the final decision will be made in the context of the overall budget as legislators craft the two-year, $40 billion package.
But she disputed statements by opponents that the increased taxes would either be passed along to consumers or that the Millstone operators would shut down the two nuclear plants along Long Island Sound.
"If you're going to pass it on, why would you be worried about it?'' Nardello asked. "I wouldn't want to put the plant under. Why would I want to do that?''
Nardello said that Millstone "can't shut down'' because they have committed to supply power to ISO New England, which oversees electricity in the region.