Key Issues
Highlights of Nuclear Energy Provisions in Energy Policy Act of 2005
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Price-Anderson Act Renewal
The bill extends the Price-Anderson Act for 20 years. The act provides the framework for immediate, no-fault insurance coverage for the public in the event of a nuclear reactor accident.
The Price-Anderson Act requires that nuclear plant operators purchase all of the private insurance available to them—currently $300 million—to serve as a primary level of coverage. If this amount is not sufficient to cover claims arising from an accident, companies are obligated to contribute to a fund that provides a secondary level of coverage.
The energy legislation:
The industry has been seeking renewal of the Price-Anderson Act since it expired in 2003. This extension is the longest Congress has ever granted. This is the fifth time Congress has reauthorized the act since the law was first passed in 1957.
However, the bill excluded a proposed subrogation measure that would have greatly increased potential liabilities to contractors at federal nuclear sites.
Price-Anderson Act Renewal
The bill extends the Price-Anderson Act for 20 years. The act provides the framework for immediate, no-fault insurance coverage for the public in the event of a nuclear reactor accident.
The Price-Anderson Act requires that nuclear plant operators purchase all of the private insurance available to them—currently $300 million—to serve as a primary level of coverage. If this amount is not sufficient to cover claims arising from an accident, companies are obligated to contribute to a fund that provides a secondary level of coverage.
The energy legislation:
- raises the maximum required fee at the secondary level from $63 million to $95.8 million per reactor, for a total of more than $10 billion in total coverage
- raises the annual secondary level payout from $10 million to $15 million per reactor and adjusts the payout for inflation in the future.
The industry has been seeking renewal of the Price-Anderson Act since it expired in 2003. This extension is the longest Congress has ever granted. This is the fifth time Congress has reauthorized the act since the law was first passed in 1957.
However, the bill excluded a proposed subrogation measure that would have greatly increased potential liabilities to contractors at federal nuclear sites.
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