(The Center Square) — Louisiana regulators are considering whether to require utility customers to help finance nuclear energy development in the state, with a vote scheduled for next Thursday.

As currently proposed, the Louisiana Advanced Nuclear Exploration program would allow utilities to charge customers an additional 20 cents per month, although one commissioner is planning an amendment that would establish an alternative funding method.

The proceeds would be used to help “fund feasibility studies, site assessments (including environmental, geological, and infrastructure evaluations), economic analyses (including levelized cost of energy, fuel cycle considerations, and ratepayer impact modeling), and preliminary licensing/permitting preparations.”

An initial commission proposal estimated that the surcharge could raise approximately $4 million annually from customers of the state’s three major investor-owned utilities.

Republican Commissioner Eric Skrmetta is planning an amendment that would replace the monthly surcharge with authorization for utilities to spend up to $2 million on nuclear development. Utilities could later seek to recover those expenses through electricity rates, potentially passing the costs on to customers.

The program specifically targets advanced nuclear technologies, including microreactors and small modular reactors. Utilities would work with qualified nuclear technology companies to explore their potential integration into Louisiana’s electricity generation system.

Despite the proposed amendment, Democratic Commissioner Davante Lewis remains skeptical.

“I don’t like this docket,” Lewis told The Center Square. He added that he supports efforts to expand Louisiana’s nuclear energy resources but believes those investments “should not happen on the backs of ratepayers.”

The docket was opened March 11, just two weeks before Gov. Jeff Landry formally launched the state’s first Nuclear Strategic Framework. The framework outlines four priorities: nuclear manufacturing and component production, expansion of nuclear generation, uranium fuel conversion and fuel enrichment capabilities.

Since then, Turner Industries has announced plans to expand nuclear manufacturing operations, while ONE Nuclear Energy has proposed a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power project.

Louisiana is also competing to host a federal nuclear fuel development campus. The federal government estimates that such a campus could attract up to $50 billion in capital investment, generate $10 billion in state and local tax revenue and create nearly 25,000 jobs.

The projects, largely in their early stages, come as Louisiana looks to nuclear energy to meet growing electricity demand from industry and data centers.