Open your wallet: Electric rates already moving higher to finance new nuclear powerBy: Washington Post Examiner MARK WILLIAMSAssociated Press 06/21/09 8:30 PM EDTCOLUMBUS, OHIO — A ghost from the nuclear industry’s early years has reappeared.It is not public apprehension about safety or disposal issues this time, but the staggering cost of building nuclear reactors.A wave of new reactors now in the works is intended to solve at least part of the nation’s energy problems as it attempts to shift away from fossil fuels. But cost is likely to plague every upcoming nuclear project.This month in Missouri the first of the next generation reactors was put on hold because of the $6 billion price tag.Whether or not AmerenUE’s Missouri reactor was a casualty of the current economic climate, the legal fight in several states shows how big the cost hurdle will be.Some states have altered laws so that consumers begin footing the bill now, even before construction begins. Missouri did not…………………………………………cost, critics say, is a too great and there are better ways to power homes.

“It is so phenomenally costly that it crowds out capital needed for energy efficiency and renewable energy,” said Mark Haim of Missourians for Safe Energy, a group that has been fighting Ameren’s plans.

Yet Republican lawmakers in Washington want more government funding for nuclear power……………………

The nuclear energy industry lobbied hard for $50 billion worth of federal loan guarantees, but that was stripped from the stimulus bill.

So states are revamping laws to help raise money………………………

Utilities say allowing them to charge consumers before reactors are built, rather than after, will save hundreds of millions in financing costs, which would also have to be paid by consumers.

In Georgia, customers of Georgia Power, a subsidiary of the Southern Co., will pay $1.30 extra a month beginning in 2011. However, to cover the cost of two new nuclear reactors that will cost $14 billion, consumers will be paying an extra $9.10 a month by 2017.

Because the utility is allowed to collect money before the plants are on line, rates will increase by 9 percent, compared with the 12 percent they would jump if rates were raised only after completion, the company said.

Final Nail in Nukes’ Coffin? nj.com  by Bill Wolfe June 06, 2009 Huge cost overruns, construction delays, and subsidies doom nuke renaissance – “Things have not gone as planned” In a devastating story, the New York Times Business page lands what could be a knockout blow to the nuclear industry’s attempt to revive nuclear power. Nuke industry PR has argued that new “safe” and “cost effective” engineering designs have solved the safety and economic issues, while the global warming crisis warrants a huge expansion. But the Times story destroys those myths, on purely economic grounds: In Finland, Nuclear Renaissance Runs Into Trouble Cost Overruns at Finland Reactor Hold Lessons – NYTimes.com

At the same time construction costs are escalating, the industry is seeking even more subsidies by taxpayers and electric rate-payers.

The Times story is a huge warning to the Obama energy planners and to State level public utility regulators and policy makers.

Would NJ Legislators and/or the BPU allow electric consumers to get stuck with footing the bill for a failed technology?……………………..

Any move by NJ BPU to allow rate increases to subsidize nuclear construction risks would be a political nightmare.

Finally, would private investors ignore “warning lights” and take on investment risks under current (and projected) market and regulatory conditions?……………………….

“On top of such problems come the recession, weaker energy demand, tight credit and uncertainty over future policies, said Caren Byrd, an executive director of the global utility and power group at Morgan Stanley in New York.

“The warning lights now are flashing more brightly than just a year ago about the cost of new nuclear,” she said.”