Key Issues

By providing a reliable and affordable source of electricity, nuclear energy helps keep American business competitive. Nuclear plants also are engines of local job growth.

Nuclear power is the lowest-cost producer of baseload electricity. Nuclear production costs have remained steady for more than 10 years averaging 2.19 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2011. This includes the costs of operating and maintaining the plant, purchasing fuel, and paying for the management of used fuel. 

It is projected that prices of nuclear-generated electricity will remain highly stable because uranium fuel accounts for only a small part of production costs. This makes nuclear generation less susceptible to swings in fuel costs, which account for 80 percent of production costs in other forms of electricity generation. The stable, low cost of nuclear power helps reduce the price of electricity paid by consumers.

Electricity Production Cost by Fuel Type (2011)

• Nuclear: 2.19 cents per kWh
• Coal: 3.23 cents per kWh
• Natural gas: 4.51 cents per kWh
• Oil: 21.56 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh)

• Chart on production costs
• Costs: Fuel, Operation and Waste Disposal