Correction: This story has been updated to reflect accurately the state subsidies to Duke Energy Ohio and American Electric Power.

COLUMBUS - Ohio Republicans' energy overhaul started as a thinly veiled attempt to rescue two northern Ohio nuclear plants with new fees on everyone's electric bills.

Now, the veil is off.

Changes made to House Bill 6 last week would direct most of the $197.6 million collected from new fees on Ohioans' electric bills to Akron-based FirstEnergy Solutions, which operates two nuclear plants outside Toledo and Cleveland.

Renewable energy companies from wind to solar would not get a cut of this "Ohio Clean Air Program."

In a double blow, lawmakers also axed current programs that encourage electricity providers to purchase renewable energy and help customers become more energy efficient.

And lawmakers ensured utilities could charge customers a fee for two coal plants operated by Piketon-based Ohio Valley Electric Corporation through 2030. The plants are located in Gallipolis and Madison, Indiana.

Wednesday's changes likely jettisoned any hope of widespread Democratic support.

"It's now just straight-up corporate welfare," said Rep. Kristin Boggs, the Ohio House's No. 2 Democrat. "I don't know how else to describe it."

That means Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford in Perry County, must rely on fellow Republicans to pass the energy bill – a divergence from his recent bipartisan strategy. And it's not clear he has the votes yet.

The cost of a bailout

The latest version of House Bill 6 would charge Ohioans a $1 fee each month starting in 2021 for nuclear energy. The fee is higher for businesses ($15) and industrial customers ($250 to $2,500). Those fees end after 2026.

The proposal also allows electric companies to charge residents up to $2.50 each month for the two coal plants. This isn't a new charge for many electricity customers, who are billed between $0.51 and $1.64 a month for these plants thanks to an Ohio Supreme Court decision. (An average Duke Energy Ohio residential customer pays $0.97 a month.)

But the proposed changes would lock that fee in until 2030.

At the same time, the bill eliminates current green energy and energy efficiency requirements, which cost the average customer about $4.39 each month.

What this means for the average customer's bill depends on how much your electric company charged for renewable energy before.

And opponents of the bill argue that investing in energy efficiency has saved the state $5.1 billion since 2009. No energy efficiency requirements will lead to higher electrical bills, environmental groups say.

Republican lawmakers argued the state shouldn't be picking winners and losers in the energy market. Meanwhile, the bill has clear winners: nuclear and coal.

"My goal would be we should eventually get rid of all of this stuff and just let everybody compete as best as we can," said Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana, who leads the committee where the energy bill is being debated.

But the federal government already offers tax credits and benefits to renewable energy, creating an uneven playing field, Vitale said.

"Part of this bill is to correct the distortion – not bail someone out," Vitale said.

Should Ohio bail out FirstEnergy?

At the heart of the debate is whether Ohio taxpayers should save FirstEnergy Solutions.

The company, which was spun off from parent FirstEnergy Corp., filed for bankruptcy in March 2018 with more than $2.8 billion in debt.

Without help from taxpayers, FirstEnergy Solutions says the company will close its two nuclear plants in Ohio: Davis-Besse, east of Toledo, in May 2020 and Perry, east of Cleveland, in May 2021.

The two plants employ more than 1,300 skilled workers who pay taxes and raise children in northern Ohio.

"We like to produce power in Ohio and use Ohio power," said Larry Tscherne, business manager for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 245, which represents Davis-Besse workers.

But opponents of the bailout say FirstEnergy made poor business decisions by investing in coal and nuclear plants rather than diversifying its energy portfolio. The company's financial situation is not Ohio ratepayers' problem.

Nuclear energy is costly compared to natural gas, coal and some renewable energy. Nuclear plants require security, disaster plans and maintenance that other plants do not. That has made nuclear energy dependent on subsidies to survive nationwide.

"Clean air is obviously good," testified Michael Haugh with the Ohio Consumers' Counsel. "But having state government choose outcomes in the competitive marketplace is not good."

FirstEnergy's leaders didn't always support subsidies. In 2011, executive vice president Leila Vespoli told lawmakers that "competitive markets work" and subsidies "would be picking winners and losers."

"We’ve been down that road before, and the results weren’t pretty," she said.

That speech hasn't matched reality, though. Since 1999, FirstEnergy has received $10.2 billion in state subsidies – substantially more than its competitors. In comparison, Duke Energy has received $1.2 billion and American Electric Power received $1.8 billion over those years, according to Ohio Consumers' Counsel research.

And recently, FirstEnergy has asked lawmakers for as much as $300 million to save its nuclear plants. In 2017, the company asked lawmakers for permission to charge its customers a monthly fee, but the idea had little support at the time.

Power politics

This time, the fight over whether to subsidize FirstEnergy has blurred traditional political lines.

Householder, a Republican, is working with historically Democrat-voting unions to save the nuclear plants. Meanwhile, other GOP lawmakers say a bailout undermines conservatives' free-market principles. And Democrats are trying to find a solution for everyone from environmental groups to the AARP.

Dozens of lobbyists, including 21 for FirstEnergy or FirstEnergy Solutions, have descended on the Ohio Statehouse. Nearly 180 people have offered testimony on the bill with 122 opposing it.

FirstEnergy and pro-FirstEnergy groups have spent millions on campaign contributions, Facebook advertisements and television spots to encourage a deal that saves the plants.

Since 2015, FirstEnergy's political action committee has given more than $1.74 million to Ohio political candidates and parties, according to an Enquirer analysis of campaign finance data.

Recipients of those contributions include Householder, Senate President Larry Obhof and Gov. Mike DeWine – the three politicians with the power to make a FirstEnergy bailout happen.

What's next for House Bill 6?

The bill passed committee along party lines Thursday. It could receive a vote on the House floor as soon as this week – if the changes have enough support.

More:Nuclear power companies have spent millions lobbying for subsidies. Should Ohio, other states bail them out?

More:New fee a 'bailout' for FirstEnergy nuclear plants, environmental groups say