[Azure]

I agree with Fuzz, the numbers are not practical at all and to me it seems to just be a 'oh big number = things will change' stupidity.

In addition to 10-K data, the Electric Utility Cost Group and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) have complied data on capital expenditures (capex) within the industry. This includes uprates, extended operations, equipment replacement, and regulatory spending. Based on this data, regulatory capex has more than tripled from 2006 to 2015, from $629 million annually to $2 billion. This is by far the fastest-growing category of capex in the surveys. Because the number of nuclear plants has declined since 2006, the cost per plant has also increased by more than 340 percent. How many industries can withstand a 3.4-fold increase in regulatory costs in just one decade? On a per plant basis, this equates to $9.6 million in 2006, to more than $32.7 million in 2015.

Not only are regulatory expenditures increasing, but the ratio to overall capex is also rising. For instance, in 2008, regulatory capex comprised 18.8 percent of overall capex. By 2010, regulatory spending increased to 24 percent of total capex. In 2015, the most recent year data are available, the percentage of regulatory spending has climbed to 32 percent of total nuclear capex, as much as any other category, only narrowly trailing equipment replacement (33 percent). Total capex in the industry has actually declined from $7.3 billion in 2010, to $6.3 billion in 2015, but regulatory costs continue to escalate.

Notice that for six plants, $30 million in regulatory costs would exceed their profitability. For 15 plants on the list, the regulatory costs as a percentage of profitability would exceed the U.S. corporate income tax. Again, some regulatory costs are built into the operation, maintenance, and fuel costs, but even assuming $20 million in regulatory burdens would make five of these plants unprofitable. The power plant owners know the regulatory obstacles and profitability implications better than anyone, so if they remain open, there is likely a good reason. On the other hand, there is a reason nuclear plants are closing across the country.

It should be no surprise that Oyster Creek (116 percent) and Pilgrim (47 percent) are set to close in 2019 and politicians are hoping to bail out the Fitzpatrick (1,287 percent), Nine Mile Point (147 percent), R.E. Ginna (87 percent), Davis Besse (69 percent), and Beaver Valley (39 percent) plants.

https://www.americanactionforum.org/...costs-context/

Not shocking at all that red tape is a big reason that these plants are being shuttered.