Nuclear and power prices

We looked at the cost of electricity for residential customers in US states and European countries, and at how much power in those areas came from nuclear .

STATES OF THE US

Washington

Cost of electricity for residents: US10.26c per kWh State’s rank in terms of cheap electricity: 1 out of 50 Percentage of power drawn from nuclear: 7.8% Nebraska

Cost of electricity for residents: US10.79c per kWh State’s rank in terms of cheap electricity: 3 out of 50 Percentage of power drawn from nuclear: 17.8%

North Carolina

Cost of electricity for residents: US11.62c per kWh State’s rank in terms of cheap electricity: 9 out of 50 Percentage of power drawn from nuclear: 32.8% Missouri

Cost of electricity for residents: US11.74c per kWh State’s rank: 10 out of 50 Percentage of power drawn from nuclear: 5.5%

COUNTRIES OF EUROPE

Bulgaria

Cost of electricity for residents: 0.1137€ per kWh Country’s rank in terms of cheap electricity (Europe only): 9 out of 41 Percentage of power drawn from nuclear: 34.6% Hungary

Cost of electricity for residents: 0.1611€ per kWh Country’s rank in terms of cheap electricity (Europe only): 12 out of 41 Percentage of power drawn from nuclear: 46.8% Spain

Cost of electricity for residents: 0.1823€ per kWh Country’s rank in terms of cheap electricity (Europe only): 14 out of 41 Percentage of power drawn from nuclear: 20.8%

Sources:

For US power prices: Energy Information Administration For US power mix: Nuclear Energy Institute

For Europe power prices: Eurostat

For Europe power mix: World Nuclear Association

Federal government assertions that nuclear is the most expensive form of power are not borne out by international analysis, which shows some jurisdictions with nuclear enjoy cheap electricity.

In the US, government data shows Washington, Nebraska, North Carolina and Missouri are all in the top 10 cheapest states for electricity for residential customers – and all have nuclear power as part of their mix.

Of all 50 states in the US, electricity is cheapest in Washington, where consumers pay just 10.26 cents per megawatt hour (mW/h) – as much as half of what many Australian consumers are paying. Almost 8 per cent of Washington’s electricity comes from nuclear.

Conversely, some of the states with the most expensive electricity – Rhode Island, Alaska, Massachusetts and Hawaii – do not have nuclear power.

In Europe, countries with a heavy reliance on nucleargenerated electricity such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Spain, Slovakia and Slovenia pay cheaper than median rates for their power.

And in France, where 69 per cent of the country’s power comes from nuclear reactors (the highest in Europe), power bills are about the median for the continent.

Electricity costs are based on a multitude of factors, including

Energy industry expert

global fossil fuel prices, local subsidies and regulations, and corporate profit margins. Every state and country generates its electricity in a different way – some have a heavy reliance on coal and gas, some favour renewable sources, and others use nuclear power.

According to Finder.com.au, the average domestic cost of electricity in Australia is between 22.88c and 35.38c per kWh (US14.99c-23.18c). If Australia was a state of the US it would be somewhere between 37 and 47 in a list of all states, ranked according to the cost of electricity.

The federal government has vehemently rejected calls to investigate the development of a nuclear energy industry in Australia, even after the acquisition of nuclear-power submarines under the AUKUS pact, with Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen terming it “the most expensive form of power”.

But analysis of the overseas markets shows many jurisdictions with nuclear have cheap power – although it should also be noted other nuclear power users, such as California and Belgium, do have more expensive bills.

Australian energy industry expert Tony Wood said the international comparisons suggested there was no correlation between the local cost of electricity and whether that jurisdiction had nuclear power.

While Australia could turn to renewables for most of its electricity, Mr Wood said, to rely on wind, solar and batteries for that ultimate system backup “either doesn’t work or is really expensive”.

“We don’t have a simple solution to that last 10 per cent of the grid.

“Is it going to be gas, going to be hydrogen, going to be nuclear?” Wood said. is it is it Mr