Nuclear power in the competitive environment

Journal Article · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995 · NRRI Quarterly Bulletin

OSTI ID:381183

Schlissel, D A

Nuclear power was originally promoted as being able to produce electricity that would be {open_quotes}too cheap to meter.{close_quotes} However, large construction cost overruns and rapidly rising operating costs caused many nuclear power plants instead to be very expensive sources of electricity. As a result, many nuclear utilities will face increasing cost pressures in the future competitive environment from lower-cost producers. In fact, the threat to nuclear utilities is so severe that many industry analysts are projecting that more that $70 billion of the utilities` remaining investments in nuclear plants will be {open_quotes}stranded,{close_quotes} i.e., unrecoverable in the competitive environment. Others in the industry have speculated that many of the 150 major U.S. electric utilities, a large number of which are nuclear, could be swept away by competition, leaving fewer than fifty utilities. This paper will examine how utilities are attempting to improve the cost competitiveness of operating today`s nuclear power plants. It will also identify some of the potential consequences of competition for nuclear power and the regulatory role of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Finally, this paper will address how the changing power markets will affect the prospects for the next generation of nuclear power plants.

• OSTI ID: 381183
• Journal Information: NRRI Quarterly Bulletin, Journal Name: NRRI Quarterly Bulletin Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 16; ISSN NQBUEK; ISSN 8756-632X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
COMPETITION
COST
ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
OPERATION
PERFORMANCE
REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING