By Tom Kleckner

American Electric Power CEO Nick Akins last week praised Ohio’s controversial bill creating subsidies for nuclear and coal plants, saying the Columbus-based company “sees positives from this legislation.”

Akins told financial analysts during the company’s second-quarter earnings call Thursday that the bill, signed into two days earlier, would provide recovery for its Ohio Valley Electric Corp. coal plants through 2030 and for existing renewable contracts, as well as the opportunity for AEP Ohio to enter into bilateral contracts with certain customers.

However, the bill also phases out Ohio’s renewable energy mandate after 2026. (See related story, Ohio Approves Nuke Subsidy.)

AEP has portrayed itself as a renewables leader, having recently acquired Sempra Renewables for almost $1.1 billion, announcing plans to buy 1.5 GW of energy from three new Oklahoma wind farms and proposing a 400-MW solar project in Ohio.

AEP has nearly 5.3 GW of regulated and contracted renewable generation in its portfolio, the company said.

The legislation “still provides benefits for the recovery of existing renewable contracts until 2032 and provides additional support for solar projects that have already received siting approval,” Akins told financial analysts during the call.

AEP reported earnings of $461.3 million ($0.93/share) for the quarter, a nearly 13% drop from 2018’s second-quarter performance of $528.4 million ($1.07/share).

The company pointed to moderate weather in its service territory, trade tariffs and the strong U.S. dollar as slowing demand. It still reaffirmed its 2019 operating earnings guidance of $4 to $4.20/share.

“We’d be disappointed if it wasn’t in the upper end of that. We’re watching the economy, obviously,” Akins said. Should tariff issues be resolved before the 2020 elections, he said, “We should be in really good shape.”

AEP’s share price, which set an all-time record of $91.99 in June, lost 64 cents after its Wednesday close. The company stock ended the week at $88.95/share.