Comparing Nuclear Plant Operating/Generating Costs
The EUCG Nuclear Committee is the nuclear industry’s preeminent organization for economic and performance benchmarking data and has the most comprehensive and accurate nuclear industry cost and staffing database in the world because the data come directly from plant operators. Therefore, those who rely on other sources of nuclear industry performance data do so at a risk. For example, the NEI presents data on nuclear plant operations developed by a database vendor that interprets Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Form 1 filings and models the costs of unregulated plants to estimate nuclear plant production costs. Those data sets also exclude any indirect costs. Determining indirect costs is very difficult because it requires a detailed understanding of the peculiarities of utility economics and cost reporting processes at each plant. The EUCG database has none of those shortcomings.
Here’s an example of the differences between data from the EUCG and the data source used by the NEI. The NEI nuclear plant operating data presented on its web site show that "production costs" (defined as all operating costs plus fuel) for the top quartile of plants, averaged for the period 2006 to 2008, were $16.1/MWh (1.61¢/kWh). The EUCG data, as reported directly from its members, average $17.44/MWh, as you’ll see in Figure 5 — about an 8% difference. The lesson learned here is to carefully consider the source of your data.
The nuclear industry continues to have the lowest cost of electricity generation in the power industry, so examining those costs is a good demonstration of the NIID’s capability. The data were accessed by performing a series of queries on the NIID to determine the available operating cost data on a per-MWh basis. The NIID has a web-based query and reporting tool — the same tool used by plants to add their latest performance data to the master database. (You will note that the actual plant names are blinded, in compliance with anti-trust rules. The complete data set is only available to members on a "give-to-get" basis: You provide your plant’s data sets, by unit, and then you have access to the entire database.)
The cost and performance data are available by unit, enabling the user to select relevant and accurate peer groups (plant, unit, technology, region, and the like) for benchmarking studies. (Although the database includes several plants in other countries, we provide data for just U.S. plants in this article for easier comparison of plants with similar operating constraints.)
POWER made a series of queries of the NIID to obtain detailed production cost data. The three key queries were for 2008 data, industry average data for 2006 – 2008, and five-year industry data (2004 – 2008). Within each key query, detailed cost data were requested using standard EUCG definitions: operating costs (sum of plant, support, and other related costs), total operating costs (operating costs plus fuel), and total generating costs (total operating costs plus capital invested — normalizing the various capitalization policies among utilities) — all in $/MWh. The data from each query were then automatically formatted into benchmarking quartiles and bar charts. The results from these nine queries are presented in Figures 1 through 9.
1. Operating costs for 2008. The EUCG defines “operating costs” as the sum of plant, support, and other related costs, without fuel or capital investment expenses. Note that the data are reported by each of the 65 nuclear plants in the U.S., not by individual units. Individual unit data are available to members of the EUCG Nuclear Committee. Source: EUCG
2. Total operating costs for 2008. The EUCG defines “total operating costs” as the sum of operating costs plus fuel, but not capital investment expenses. The average cost of fuel for plants in each quartile can be found by subtracting Figure 1 data from that of Figure 2. Source: EUCG
3. Total generating costs for 2008. The EUCG defines “total generating costs” as the total operating costs plus capital investment expenses—a fully loaded cost. Source: EUCG
4. Operating costs, average for 2006–2008. Source: EUCG
5. Total operating costs, average for 2006–2008. Source: EUCG
6. Total generating costs, average for 2006–2008. Source: EUCG
7. Operating costs, industry annual average for 2004–2008. Source: EUCG
8. Total operating costs, industry annual average 2004–2008. Source: EUCG
9. Total generating costs, industry annual average for 2004–2008. Source: EUCG
The NIID also features standard benchmarking reports and graphics that give users more time for data analysis and require less time for constructing graphs and charts. In addition, the NIID has been updated with an optional "purchasing power parity" feature that accounts for international currency fluctuations. Clearly, the EUCG’s worldwide reputation as the source of the most comprehensive nuclear benchmarking data available is well deserved.
—Dr. Robert Peltier, PE is POWER's editor-in-chief.
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