Financial Challenges of Operating U.S. 

Nuclear Power Plants

Phillip Brown

Specialist in Energy Policy

Mark Holt

Specialist in Energy Policy

March 7, 2017
CRS-2

Agenda

• Introduction and Overview of U.S. Nuclear Power

• Actual, Planned, and Potential Reactor Closures

• Merchant Nuclear Power Plant Economics

• Generation Costs

• Wholesale Electricity Prices

• How Natural Gas Impacts Wholesale Electricity Prices

• Locational Marginal Prices

• Other Revenue Sources

• Case Study: Quad Cities

• Plant-Level Analysis

• Policy Options and Considerations
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Overview of U.S. Nuclear Power

• 60 operating power plants

• 99 reactors

• 99,316 Megawatts of Net Summer Generating capacity

• Approximately 20% of total power generation

• Most of existing capacity started operating in the 1970’s and 1980’s

Years Orders Cancellations Startups Shutdowns Operating at end 

of decade

1950s 16 0 3 0 3

1960s 87 0 21 8 16

1970s 153 57 58 7 67

1980s 0 58 48 4 111

1990s 0 5 3 10 104

2000s 8 0 0 0 104

2010s 0 6 1 6 99

Total 264 126 134 35

History of U.S. Power Reactor Orders, Startups, and Shutdowns

Source: Nuclear Energy Institute, Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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Orders, Startups, and Shutdowns

Most of existing capacity started operating in 

the 1970s and 1980s

Source: Nuclear Energy Institute, Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

16

87

153

0 0

8

0

3

21

58

48

3 3 0 1

16

67

111

104 104 99

1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s

Orders Startups Operating at end of decade
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Nuclear Power Plants

Source: Map by CRS using data from S&P Global Platts geospatial data layers, 2016; and Esri Data & Maps, 2014.

Notes: No nuclear power plants are located in Alaska or Hawaii. 
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Source: Map by CRS using data from S&P Global Platts geospatial data layers, 2016; and Esri Data & Maps, 2014.

Nuclear Power Plants

Notes: No nuclear power plants are located in Alaska or Hawaii. 
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Nuclear Power Plants

Source: Map by CRS using data from S&P Global Platts geospatial data layers, 2016; and Esri Data & Maps, 2014.

Notes: No nuclear power plants are located in Alaska or Hawaii. 
CRS-8

Nuclear Power Plants

Source: Map by CRS using data from S&P Global Platts geospatial data layers, 2016; and Esri Data & Maps, 2014.

Notes: No nuclear power plants are located in Alaska or Hawaii. Announced closures as of 1/10/2017. Diablo Canyon and Quad Cities are both two-reactor sites. 
CRS-9

Nuclear Power Plants

Source: Map by CRS using data from S&P Global Platts geospatial data layers, 2016; and Esri Data & Maps, 2014.

Notes: No nuclear power plants are located in Alaska or Hawaii. Announced closures as of 1/10/2017. Diablo Canyon and Quad Cities are both two-reactor sites. 
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Merchant Nuclear Power Plant Economics
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How Competitive Wholesale Electricity Prices 

Are Determined

Source: CRS

Notes: Not representative of actual RTO/ISO market clearing results. Actual values for electricity prices and electricity 

supply are not indicated in this figure, as they will vary by market, generation mix, time-of-day, and location.
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How Natural Gas Prices Impact Wholesale Electricity 

Prices, Compared with Nuclear Costs

Source: Natural gas power generation marginal cost range: CRS, using heat rate and monthly natural gas for electric power 

price information from Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas Prices, available at 

http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_pri_sum_dcu_nus_m.htm, accessed December 2016 with data through September 2016. 

Nuclear power average total costs and range: Nuclear Energy Institute, Nuclear Costs in Context, April 2016.

Notes: Nuclear power average total costs include fuel, O&M, and capital.

Dollars per Megawatthour (MWh) of Electricity (Nominal)
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Locational Marginal Prices (LMP) 

for Nuclear Plants

LMP and Nuclear Average Total Costs (Nominal)

Source: CRS. LMP ranges from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Reactors in the Red: Financial Health of the US Nuclear Fleet, July 

2016. Nuclear average total costs from Nuclear Energy Institute, Nuclear Costs in Context, April 2016.

Notes: LMPs for each nuclear plant were obtained from the Bloomberg terminal, which also includes forward price projections 

through 2019. Nuclear power average total costs through 2015 are from NEI, with 2016 to 2018 projections calculated based on 

NEI's "Delivering the Nuclear Promise" stated goals.
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Other Electricity Revenue Sources

Source: Potomac Economics, ERCOT 2015 State of the Market Report, June 2016.
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Case Study: Quad Cities

Source: Nodal Electricity Price: Bloomberg as reported in Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Reactors in the Red: Financial 

Health of US Nukes, July 2016. Capacity Payment: CRS analysis of PJM capacity prices for the COMED zone as reported by 

Monitoring Analytics, LLC, Quarterly State of the Market Report for PJM: January through June, 2016. Production cost 

information for 2015 as reported in Nucleonics Week, "US Utility Operating Costs," June 2, 2016.
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Plant-Level Analysis: Electricity Sales Revenue 

and Fuel and O&M Costs

Source: CRS using data from third-party reports. Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Reactors in the Red: Financial Health of the US 

Nuclear Fleet, July 11, 2016. R Street Institute, Where Have All the Nuclear Plants Gone?, October 2016. 
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Federal Policy Options
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Federal Policy Options

• Power Market Price Formation Changes

• Tax Incentives

• Carbon Price

• Federal Power Purchase Agreements

To Date, All Policy Action to Support Operational Nuclear Plants Has Occurred at 

the State Level: New York, Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut
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QUESTIONS?
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CONTACT INFORMATION

Phillip Brown

Specialist in Energy Policy

pbrown@crs.loc.gov

202-707-7386