Duke Energy-Progress Energy behemoth covets nuclear power amid soaring costs

[kristopher]

Duke Energy's purchase of Progress Energy not only creates the nation's biggest electricity provider, but it also combines two fans of nuclear power that are eager for more.

Even so, the shocking leap in the price of building nuclear power plants and the national waffling on a U.S. energy policy — we still lack consensus on "clean" coal, natural gas, hydro, solar and wind — raise warning flags on nuclear's prospects even as these companies insist nukes are key.

Combined, the companies boast six nuclear power plants in the Carolinas and one in Citrus County, generating electricity from 12 nuclear reactors. Together, the companies will be the third largest nationwide in nuclear generation capacity behind Chicago's Exelon and New Orleans' Entergy, but ahead of Georgia's Southern Co. or Florida Power & Light (part of NextEra Energy), two big competitors in the southeastern United States.

In remarks Monday, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers and Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson emphasized that their combined corporate heft will be key to nuclear power expansion. Why? Because the extraordinary costs of nuclear power plant construction make it financially risky for any power companies but the very biggest to afford.

Says Progress Energy's ...

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/duke-energy-progress-energy-behemoth-covets-nuclear-power-amid-soaring/1144673

The article doesn't mention that all the plants in planning are in regulatory areas that allow the utilities to charge their customer base for work on projects before those projects are finished (called CWIP regulations) - effectively guaranteeing the developers and investors against losses if (as a high percentage of nuclear plants have in the past) the plants never come online or experience huge cost overruns. It does however, point out that the CEOs want those (usually red) states with CWIP pprovisions to make it "even easier" for the utilities in the future.

In other words, when combined with Federal loan guarantees and direct Federal loans they want to transfer 100% of the risk to the taxpayer/ratepayer - but of course they want all the profit.