US nuclear power utilities win appeal against government on waste disposal costs

08 August 2008

Nuclear power has many advocates, but disposal of nuclear waste is still a matter of concern and disagreement. In the latest development of a longstanding contract dispute, a federal appeals court reversed and remanded a trio of cases concerning damages owed to nuclear utilities as a result of the government's failure to build a nuclear-waste facility.

The appeals court said the court of Federal Claims didn't properly calculate the damages awarded. As such it voided $42.8 million in damages awarded to PG&E Corp.'s Pacific Gas & Electric utility, $39.8 million to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and $142.8 million to three former New England nuclear-plant operators.

"PG&E is very pleased with the court decision, because it basically (supports) our argument that the damages were improperly calculated," said Pete Resler, a spokesman for the San Francisco-based utility company.

PG&E Corp. unit Pacific Gas & Electric owns and operates the 2,100-megawatt Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant near San Luis Obispo, California. With nowhere else to store its waste, the company is building a new storage facility at the nuclear plant site.

After PG&E determines what the damages would be under the court's new calculation, it will decide how to proceed, Resler said. PG&E's initial claim, filed in 1998, covered costs through 2004. The company is likely to ask for damages that cover costs for additional years, Resler said.

Yankee Atomic Electric Co., Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co. and Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Co. also constructed a storage facility to store waste and modified other storage facilities. The three companies, which were created by consortiums of utility firms to operate nuclear power plants in New England, have ceased producing nuclear power.