Energy security

Billions Lost in Nuclear Power Projects, With More Bills Due

 A decade ago, utilities were persuading politicians around the country to let them spend big to go nuclear.

Expanding nuclear energy capacity was a sure bet, they said: Natural gas prices were rising, energy needs skyrocketing, and the federal government was poised to cripple carbon-emitting fossil fuel plants. With a dozen or more nuclear power projects being developed around the nation, cost savings could be found through simultaneous construction.

State legislators were sold. In South Carolina, they even passed a law allowing utilities to charge customers up front and to recoup their investments even if the projects never produced a kilowatt. Several other Southern states also passed "pay-as-you-go" laws.