Skip to main content

The Day After the Day After

Image
By Trish Conrad
Two days beyond the 2006 midterm elections, what have we learned and what does it mean for the future of nuclear energy?

The Democrats have captured the House of Representatives and are expected to elect the first female Speaker in this country's history, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California.

Nuclear power has enjoyed bipartisan support in the House in the past, witnessed by broad backing of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The industry will continue to work with both sides of the aisle and, with a new crop of legislators coming to the nation's Capitol, there will be new opportunities to share information about the importance of nuclear power in increasing energy independence and supporting economic security.

The makeup of the Senate is essentially assured, as Virginia Democrat Jim Webb -- who supports "properly constructed nuclear power" --leads Republican George Allen by over 7000 votes. Allen is expected to concede at a 3 pm news conference today, so his opponent will pick up this seat and with it the Democrats the Senate.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada is the all but anointed new leader of the upper chamber. Keeping in mind his past support of nuclear energy, the industry is looking forward to building a positive relationship with the expected new Senate Majority Leader and working with him in the future.

As for predictions from the pundits, Democratic strategist and frequent CNN analyst Donna Brazile said she expects the House to pay considerable attention to alternative energy sources during the next session of Congress. At a post-election briefing held in Washington, DC yesterday, she encouraged the industry to actively engage the new Congress and share how nuclear power can play a role in future energy policy.

In the near term, President Bush said today that he would like Congress to act on bipartisan energy legislation before the end of the year.

Technorati tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments

Anonymous said…
If a Democrat Congress legislates for an emissions trading scheme, long-term, that's an enormous fillip for the nuclear industry. It'll mean you're competing against coal and gas on a much fairer basis, because they will finally be financially accountable for their emissions.
November 9, 2006 at 5:50 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wednesday Update

By
From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Activists' Claims Distort Facts about Advanced Reactor Design

By
Below is from our rapid response team . Yesterday, regional anti-nuclear organizations asked federal nuclear energy regulators to launch an investigation into what it claims are “newly identified flaws” in Westinghouse’s advanced reactor design, the AP1000. During a teleconference releasing a report on the subject, participants urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend license reviews of proposed AP1000 reactors. In its news release, even the groups making these allegations provide conflicting information on its findings. In one instance, the groups cite “dozens of corrosion holes” at reactor vessels and in another says that eight holes have been documented. In all cases, there is another containment mechanism that would provide a barrier to radiation release. Below, we examine why these claims are unwarranted and why the AP1000 design certification process should continue as designated by the NRC. Myth: In the AP1000 reactor design, the gap between the shield bu...
23 comments
Read more

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

By
Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...
Post a Comment
Read more