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Book Review - Electricity Privitisation

James G. Hewlett

Year: 1990
Volume: Volume 11
Number: Number 3
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol11-No3-8
No Abstract



Chapter 20 - A Cost/Benefit Perspective of Extended Unit Service as a Decommissioning Alternative

James G. Hewlett

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-20
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Abstract:
Some people consider life extension (and its cousin, license renewal) analternative to decommissioning. The reasons for the popularity of suchalternatives include presumed cost effectiveness, retention of scarce power plantsites, and the continued ability to pass on waste storage expenses as a cost ofservice. In this chapter, James Hewlett addresses nuclear power plant lifeextension- -which he calls NUPLEX--in its economic garb, starting with a look atthe common utility presumption that life extension of a nuclear plant will allowit to produce electricity at a lower rate than new coal generation. Thispresumption, he argues, may not be supportable by analysis. He concludes thatthe deferral of constructing new replacement capacity would result in costsavings only if both the level and escalation rate of the operating costs forthe refurbished unit fall substantially from 1986 levels. Therefore, it is unclearwhether the deferral of the construction of new capacity would result in the costsavings, although it definitely shifts the financial burden into the future.



Chapter 22 - Financial Implications of Early Decommissioning

James G. Hewlett

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-22
View Abstract

Abstract:
There are three generalized timing possibilities for decommissioning: at the end of the original operating license, after some period of life extension, or sometime before the end of normal service. In this companion piece to his discussion of life extension in Chapter 20, James Hewlett addresses the third option. Premature decommissioning can arise--as it did for Unit 2 of Three Mile Island--from an accident, or--more commonly-because it may be cheaper to close the facility than to have it continue in operation. The economic implication of premature closure is one of potentially insufficient fund accumulation. As Hewlett points out, the decision to close a plant is complicated by decommissioning considerations; for example, the decision could depend in part on the status of the accumulated funds. Such a decision also can influence plans for new construction since it may delay the time of closure for existing plants. State regulatory bodies in the United States influence such decisions through their control over rates of return. In the end, decommissioning cost considerations often influence decommissioning timing.



Economic and Regulatory Factors Affecting the Maintenance of Nucleaer Power Plants

James G. Hewlett

Year: 1996
Volume: Volume17
Number: Number 4
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol17-No4-1
View Abstract

Abstract:
This paper examines the factors causing the escalation in the 1980s and' subsequent leveling off of nuclear power plant non-fuel Operating and Maintenance (O&M) costs. Over the period 1974-93, real (inflation-adjusted) non-fuel O&M costs escalated from about $23 to about $97 per kilowatt of installed capacity (kW). However, much of the escalation in costs occurred in the 1980s. Over the period 1975-87, real O&M costs escalated at an annual rate of about 11 percent. Since then, the annual growth rate in real O&M costs fell to about I percent. The research found that the escalation in O&M costs was primarily due to increased regulatory activity by the Nuclear Regulatory, Commission. More important, there is little evidence that the moderation in the growth in O&M costs was regulatory induced, but instead was due to changes in the economic incentives to improve plant performance.





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