nuclear-news

Ratings agency sees little future for new nuclear reactors

Fitch says new nuclear plant may spur few more, Reuters, Caryn Trokie, New York Ratings Unit, Feb 10 -, Fitch Ratings believes that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) vote on February 9 approving the combined construction and operating license (COL) for Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 is a significant milestone in the development of new nuclear capacity in the US but has limited impact on credit.

The new reactors are being developed by Southern Company subsidiary, Georgia Power Company (GPC) along with its partners the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), Oglethorpe Power Corporation (OPC), and the city of Dalton, GA..

.. The two public power utilities have already prefunded, through debt issuance, a substantial portion of their share of the construction
costs. GPC will rely on a combination of Department of Energy loan guarantees and traditional utility funding sources. The utility
benefits from constructive rate treatment of project costs including recovery of construction work in progress on financing costs…..

We believe that new COL applications beyond those in process are unlikely in the near term. Despite significant enthusiasm for nuclear
power in recent years as an alternative to fossil generation, diminished load growth in the slow economy and historically low
natural gas and wholesale electric prices have dampened interest. Combined with lower prospects for carbon emission regulations and
evolving safety standards following the events at Fukushima, the industry’s focus has shifted to maintenance of the nation’s existing
nuclear fleet.

Details of the approval are not yet available. Fitch will review them as soon as they are made available to us to evaluate the conditions included in the COL and any impact they may have on the cost or timing of completion.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/10/idUSWNA998020120210

February 11, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA