nuclear-news

Questions on the huge costs likely for consumers in effort to fix nuclear plant

the total cost of fixing the plant and buying electricity from someone else that the nuke plant should be generating? About $2.5 billion. Progress Energy’s Florida customers will pay hundreds of millions of dollars of that bill…..

Honey, I broke the nuclear power plant, Tampa Bay.com By Robert Trigaux, Times Business Columnist , October 11, 2011 If you missed staff writer Ivan Penn’s investigative piece in Sunday’ St. Petersburg Times, you need to go back and read it. Carefully. (You can find it online at this address: http://tinyurl.com/3u96hk2.) It’s about a misguided decision by Progress Energy to try to repair its one and only nuclear power plant in Florida.

Known as Crystal River 3, the Citrus County nuke plant has been shut down and not producing electricity since September 2009. The company thought it could save money — about $15 million — by doing the fix itself. It did not work. It created more complex and costly problems. If they made a movie out of this, it could star nuke plant employee Homer Simpson.

Now Progress Energy says it will fix the plant. But the major damage is done. The plant will remain shut down until at least 2014, which means the company’s key base load producer of electricity for the Florida market will remain shuttered and producing no power for what may be close to four years.

And the total cost of fixing the plant and buying electricity from someone else that the nuke plant should be generating? About $2.5 billion.

Progress Energy’s Florida customers will pay hundreds of millions of dollars of that bill…..

Penn’s story in the newspaper carried this headline: Saving millions costs billions.

It’s succinct. But I prefer Honey, I broke the nuclear plant.

It’s one thing for a power company to suggest replacing parts on its own truck or generator or maybe even a smaller coal or gas plant. If things go wrong, the damage is manageable. The risk to the company and the risk to ratepayers is within reason.

But this gamble by Progress Energy to take on a major repair project of its Florida nuke plant is high risk, low reward.

It raises questions:….

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/honey-i-broke-the-nuclear-power-plant/1196172

October 11, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA