November 1, 2009

Benchmarking Nuclear Plant Operating Costs

Dr. Robert Peltier, PE

In an exclusive agreement with the EUCG Nuclear Committee, POWER was provided access to some key, high-level performance and operational data from the group’s nuclear industry benchmarking database. All U.S., and many international, nuclear power plants are members of the committee and have contributed to its database for many years. This month we introduce you to the EUCG Nuclear Committee and share sample nuclear operating costs. Look for future reports on other key performance benchmarking metrics during 2010.

The nuclear power industry enjoyed another banner year in 2008. The industry’s average plant capacity factor remained above 90% for the second year in a row, and the 104 U.S. nuclear power plants (35 boiling water reactors and 69 pressurized water reactors) produced more than 800 million MWh — just a tenth of a percent less than in 2007. Sixteen of these plants recorded capacity factors greater than 100%, which is a phenomenal achievement. Exelon Corp., for example, reported that its 17 reactors finished the year with a fleetwide average capacity factor of 93.9% and operated above 93% for the sixth consecutive year. In comparison, the industry average for coal-fired plants is about 70%, and for wind turbine plants it was slightly less than 25% in 2008, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Equipment and controls upgrades at nuclear plants have also increased the rated power output of selected plants over the past few years. During 2008 alone, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved a combined 726 MW of power uprates, which are normally unavailable to coal-fired plants, given the limitations of the Clean Air Act’s New Source Performance Standards. Since 1977, the NRC has approved some 124 nuclear power plant uprates, representing about 5,640 MW of added capacity — roughly equivalent to constructing another five complete nuclear power plants. (See "Nuclear Uprates Add Critical Capacity" in the May 2009 issue of POWER.) If you consider the enormous increase in the industry’s average capacity factor over the past 20 years, improved plant operations are equivalent to at least another dozen plants (Table 1).

Table 1.    The nuclear industry received an “A” on its 2008 report card. Source: Energy Information Administration

The nuclear uprate program that is driving these upgrades remains strong. There are currently nine power uprate applications in the NRC queue awaiting approval that total another 949 MW. In addition, the NRC expects nuclear operators to submit a total of 40 uprate applications between now and 2013, representing another 2,075 MW of installed capacity. For example, Exelon announced in late September a series of power uprates across its fleet that will increased the rated capacity of its plants between 1,300 and 1,500 MW within eight years "without turning a spade of earth," said Exelon Nuclear President and Chief Nuclear Officer Charles (Chip) Pardee at the press conference. "With these uprates, we will be able to produce the equivalent output of a new advanced nuclear reactor, and we’ll bring it to market in a timeframe commensurate with the fastest new construction."

EUCG Becomes the Industry Standard

There are many reasons why the nuclear industry’s performance has made such a dramatic improvement over the past two decades, especially in terms of increased capacity factors, improved safety, and keeping the price of electricity at the busbar very low. Attention to operations and maintenance has certainly improved, but so have the entire work process planning and scheduling processes. Where the length of a refueling outage was measured in weeks or months a decade ago, today, it is down to a couple of weeks. Improved computerized information management systems, human productivity and work processes, and effective leadership all share credit for the industry’s excellent performance. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, these performance improvements occurred while maintaining a high level of plant safety and quality assurance — the yin and yang of every nuclear power plant.

Another significant cultural change over the past two decades was that nuclear operators established performance measures that were objective, measurable, and related to results. However, the only way to accomplish this goal was to have a source of validated, consistent data that nuclear power generators could use to compare their performance with that of their peers. That is when the EUCG (formerly known as the Electric Utility Cost Group) stepped in and, working with other industry organizations, developed a common set of cost and data definitions. When the industry approved those definitions, comparable performance data were used to populate the EUCG’s Nuclear Integrated Information Database (NIID).

The EUCG subsequently prepared a series of benchmarking reports for its members. Since then, benchmarking has grown far beyond just comparing standard performance metrics, such as capacity factors and length of refueling outages, to identifying best practices and implementing continuous improvement programs.

Today’s NIID includes plant and unit performance and cost data, operating and outage cost data, capital cost investments, staffing information, and more. The database, originally developed in 1986 and updated annually for its participating members, is recognized as the most comprehensive source of nuclear plant data in the world. However, EUCG data are shared on a "give-to-get" basis among members, meaning that the data are only available to members that participate by providing their plant data.