Workers rally at Capitol amid debate over nuclear power bill - SFChronicle.com

Workers rally at Capitol amid debate over nuclear power bill - SFChronicle.com: HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Hundreds of nuclear power plant workers rallied at Pennsylvania's Capitol amid hearings on legislation to charge ratepayers more to subsidize nuclear power. Workers from Pennsylvania's five plants repeated warnings Wednesday that their jobs and future are endangered amid a flood of low-cost natural gas into competitive electricity markets. Pennsylvania is the No. 2 nuclear-power state. Three Mile Island's owner, Chicago-based Exelon, says it'll shut down the financially struggling plant this year without state action. In testimony to a Senate hearing, Patrick Cicero of the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project, which helps low-income utility consumers, said the legislation is flawed because it doesn't require plant owners to prove they need the money. Cicero says his low-income clients are required to prove they need help before they can get it from the state or utilities.