NEI Energy Markets Report (April 2nd

NEI Energy Markets Report (April 2nd - April 6th)

Here's a summary of what went on in the energy markets last week:

Electricity prices increased last week (see pages 1 & 2).
Gas prices rose at the Henry Hub $0.28 to $7.54 / MMBtu (see page 4).
Twenty one reactors were in refueling outages with eight beginning and two finishing last week. Five reactors were down for maintenance last week (see pages 2 & 3).
Uranium prices jumped $18 to $113 / lb U3O8 according to TradeTech and Ux Consulting. “This is the largest single increase since uranium prices were first reported by NUEXCO in 1968, and marks a 57 percent increase in the spot uranium price since the beginning of the year,” according to TradeTech.

For the podcast click here. For the report click here (pdf). It is also located on NEI's Nuclear Statistics webpage.

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Fluor Invests in NuScale

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Ohio faces a decision soon about its two nuclear reactors, Davis-Besse and Perry, and on Wednesday, neighbors of one of those plants issued a cry for help. The reactors’ problem is that the price of electricity they sell on the high-voltage grid is depressed, mostly because of a surplus of natural gas. And the reactors do not get any revenue for the other benefits they provide. Some of those benefits are regional – emissions-free electricity, reliability with months of fuel on-site, and diversity in case of problems or price spikes with gas or coal, state and federal payroll taxes, and national economic stimulus as the plants buy fuel, supplies and services. Some of the benefits are highly localized, including employment and property taxes. One locality is already feeling the pinch: Oak Harbor on Lake Erie, home to Davis-Besse. The town has a middle school in a building that is 106 years old, and an elementary school from the 1950s, and on May 2 was scheduled to have a referendu

Wednesday Update

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

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