California
Related: About this forum"Radioactive and Short on Cash to Pay for Closures"
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-03/radioactive-and-short-on-cashAt the edge of Humboldt Bay in northern California lies a relic from the heyday of U.S. nuclear power.
The reactor was shut down in 1976. The remaining cost to decommission the plant once and for all - cleaning up lingering radiological dangers, dismantling the remains -- will be about $441 million, according to its owner, PG&E Corp.
The question is who will pay -- for Humboldt Bay, and for dozens of other reactors that are in the process of closing or might soon. Nuclear operators like PG&E are supposed to lay up enough money to cover the costs, similar to how corporations fund pensions. Turns out, most havent.
PG&Es Humboldt Bay trust fund, for instance, is currently $308 million short, according to a company filing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. PG&E customers will shoulder the cost in the form of higher electricity bills.
Somebodys got to pay for it -- the money doesnt come from magic, said Allison M. Macfarlane, a former NRC chairman. Brittany McKannay, a PG&E spokeswoman, said the company is committed to operating and decommissioning its nuclear plants safely.
The U.S. nuclear industry is feeling its age. Once touted as a source of electricity that would be too cheap to meter, plants need expensive upgrades to protect them from terrorism and natural disasters. At the same time, they face growing competition from renewables and natural gas. While five new reactors are under construction, current economics give little incentive to build more. Looming is an unprecedented wave of closures.
Drag On
Yet 82 of the 117 U.S. nuclear power plants, including seven in the process of shutting down, dont have enough cash on hand to close safely, according to NRC records. And closing tends to cost more than operators expect. Based on NRC filings, the actual combined cost may be somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 billion -- $43 billion more than the current balance of the trust funds.
So the coming closures could drag on for decades and place unexpected burdens on investors, consumers or taxpayers. more at link
Something for us on the Central Coast to think about when El Diablo is decommissioned and I don't mean if but when. As to who will pay for it? My money says that it will fall on the taxpayer.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Surprise, surprise! </gomer-pyle>
Well, at least it was decommissioned before it turned Humboldt into a nuclear San Bruno.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)I've been suggesting we form a Department of Water and Power in our county run by the county like Los Angeles does addressing two problems we have, the power plant and water use. The County should buy it from P. G. & E. and then decommission it as quickly as possible while renewable energy infrastructures are built to replace it. I think a deal can be cut with P. G. & E bringing this up. Trade the closing costs for the cost of buying the plant for taking it off their hands. I'm not a wheeler and dealer like others, but I'm sure there are car salesmen and realtors out there that have the skills that we can employ.
Piedras
(247 posts)I think it would be very unwise, indeed a horrible idea, for the County of San Luis Obispo to buy PG&E's Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant to "try" to shut it down. Then PG&E would shift liability to SLO County and its taxpayers for the unknown and probably unknowable cost to shut down the plant, clean up the site, and dispose of nuclear waste which probably would go on for decades, if not for hundreds of year, or longer. PGE&E and its stock holders should rightfully incur all the liabilities and pay for all the decommissioning costs involved.
I do think it would be very wise, more economical, safer, and much more environmental friendly for the local cities and the county to form a local power authority. A local power authority is already under discussion. It could buy, generate, distribute and sell more economical and environmentally friendly energy.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)utility or a cooperative, as you suggest, run by the users/people in the service area. I just think for profit utility companies fall short of actually serving the people because they must serve themselves first.
Agree.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)PG&E's (and SoCal Edison's) storebought allies in the legislature have made it almost impossible to create new public power agencies. Not even SF could get it done!
Cleita
(75,480 posts)legislators voted out of office.
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)I would say I'm helping to pay for it. And I'm a "bit" south of Humbolt Bay.
Response to Cleita (Original post)
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Cleita
(75,480 posts)area, like give gifts to schools, to get most of the populace to blindly defend them.
Response to Cleita (Reply #5)
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pinto
(106,886 posts)11 California counties have higher rates of cancer then Del Norte/Humboldt. It pays to be accurate when making a case.
And I support some sort of review of decommissioning costs. PG&E built, operated and maintained the plants. Dismantling and clean up ought to be their responsibility in the whole process.
Response to pinto (Reply #8)
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pinto
(106,886 posts)Take care.
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Probably tax payers...as long as there is a significant reduction in Executive Pay, Bonuses and Perks.
That would save MILLIONS.
Lordquinton
(7,886 posts)They have screwed up so many times, and turn people's lives into a a for profit. One that they made go bankrupt to oust Grey Davis. Remember that? When they claimed that they couldn't afford to keep themselves running, then blamed it on Davis who got recalled in a joke election and we got Arnold forced on us.
Seize the company and the assets of their board, it's less than they deserve.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)everyone needs.
Lordquinton
(7,886 posts)The main roadblock for progress in water infrastructure is profit. The sanitary district can't expand it's recycled water program because the water district doesn't want them cutting into their profits.
Same with electricity. Except with renewable, not recycled electrons...