Politics Pushes Back Against Nuclear Cost Overruns: The Southern Company (SO), NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE), Duke Energy Corp (DUK)

Who else is affected?
Should the proposed bills become law, there is some potential that utilities get spooked and drop their nuclear ambitions. Not every company will be able to fund construction with restricted collection systems in place, while others may worry about paying fines for over-budget projects (the industry norm). Here’s a quick list of proposed nuclear projects elsewhere:

Source: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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You’ll notice that Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC), the leading nuclear company by capacity, isn’t planning any new reactors at the moment. The company has 17 reactors in operation today that generate 140 GWe of electricity annually. Rather than add to its lead, Exelon is seeking to expand its renewable energy portfolio and boasts the largest urban solar project in the country.

Foolish bottom line
It’s unlikely that all of the pending nuclear projects will be approved. Nonetheless, it’s probably a good thing that these kinks are being ironed out at new reactor No. 3 — not somewhere further down the road. Remember, a lot has changed since the last reactors were approved in 1978, so problems were bound to arise at some point. Investors will want to keep an eye on this development and see whether it scares any utilities away from expanding their nuclear capacities. However, it may have a negligible impact, given the diverse generating portfolios throughout the industry.

The article Politics Pushes Back Against Nuclear Cost Overruns originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Maxx Chatsko.

Fool contributor Maxx Chatsko has no position in any stocks mentioned. Check out his personal portfolio, his CAPS page, or follow him on Twitter, @BlacknGoldFool, to keep up with his writing on energy, bioprocessing, and emerging technologies.The Motley Fool recommends Dominion Resources, Exelon, and Southern.

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