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Illinois House, Senate OKs Exelon subsidy plan

The plan was approved 63-38 Thursday, Dec. 1.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Legislation worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually to energy giant Exelon Corp. has won Illinois House approval after more than two hours of floor debate.

The plan approved 63-38 Thursday, Dec. 1, would allow Exelon to support two nuclear-power plants — in Clinton and the Quad Cities — that are unprofitable and the company has threatened to close.

The legislation moved to the Senate on the General Assembly's final day of session this year, where it was passed in less than an hour.

Proponents say it will cost consumers less than 25 cents a month in exchange for reliable power and saved jobs.

It provides $235 million a year to Exelon to keep open the plants. Environmentalists embrace it because it requires hundreds of millions of dollars in energy-efficiency programs to reduce usages.

WQAD News 8's Jenna Morton is in Springfield keeping us up to date via Twitter. Follow her @WQADJennaMorton. 

RELATED: Deal to keep Exelon nuke plants open close to passage

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