Nuclear Electric Power Generation Business Guide
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All 5 Documented Cases
निकास निधि अपर्याप्तता (Decommissioning Fund Insufficiency)
₹15,000-25,000 crore estimated underfunding gap. Decommissioning costs are 9-15% of initial capital cost (~₹15,000-20,000 crore per 1000 MW plant). Current levy collects ~₹70-85 crore/year; required reserve growth: ₹300-500 crore/year. Annual shortfall: ₹230-430 crore/year × 33 years = ₹7,600-14,200 crore compounded.The decommissioning charge of 2 paise/kWh, set in October 1991, has remained frozen for 33+ years. The fund accumulated ₹2,349 crore as of March 2020 (₹84.21 crore in FY 2019-20), but neither NPCIL nor AERB can publicly disclose how much it will actually cost to decommission a single plant. Expert analysis suggests actual costs will far exceed the tariff-backed reserve, creating a 'hidden subsidy' for nuclear electricity and deferred financial liability for the government.
आणविक रिएक्टर निर्माण में लागत वृद्धि (Nuclear Reactor Construction Cost Overruns)
Global precedent: 117% cost overrun average = ₹2,30,000+ crore excess on India's 100 GW target (estimated ₹5,00,000 crore capital). Per-project: Vogtle overrun = $22B; Hinkley = £30B+ (~₹3,00,000 crore). Estimated India loss on next 2-3 reactor projects: ₹50,000-100,000 crore.Nuclear power plants are experiencing severe cost overruns globally. Vogtle (US): $14B → $36B+; Hinkley Point C (UK): £16B → £46B+; NuScale SMRs: $3B → $9.3B. Academic study of 180 projects found 175 exceeded budgets by average 117% and took 64% longer. India's UCIL expansion into Banduhurang and Saraikela-Kharswan mines projected to produce 2,400 and 410 tons/day uranium ore respectively—expansion timelines and costs not disclosed but historically subject to massive delays.
विनियामक अनुपालन अंतराल (Regulatory Compliance Gap – Missing Decommissioning Plans)
Estimated regulatory exposure: ₹500-1,000 crore in potential operating license suspension costs (lost revenue if 1-2 plants forced offline during compliance remediation). Historical compliance delay (2003-2012): 9 years × average 5,000 MW output × ₹5-7/kWh wholesale price × capacity factor 70% = ₹63-88 crore in unrecovered regulatory remediation costs. Current risk: If AERB enforces mandatory plan resubmission, 3-6 month audit cycles per plant × 25 plants = 6-12 months operational restriction exposure.AERB's 1998 manual (advisory, not initially mandatory) required decommissioning plans from all operational plants by 2003. Zero compliance was achieved. In 2012, CAG audit explicitly found 'AERB does not have an adequate mandate in respect of decommissioning.' AERB lacked legal authority to deny or revoke operating licenses for non-compliance. Post-2012, AERB requested all plants submit 'conceptual decommissioning plans,' but: (1) these are not yet mandatory in law; (2) no penalties exist for non-submission; (3) periodic review schedule not legally mandated.
अनुमानित लागत अस्पष्टता (Cost Estimation Opacity – No Public Decommissioning Cost Models)
Estimated ₹10,000-15,000 crore hidden liability (unquantified decommissioning costs × 25 operating/under-construction plants). Annual misallocation due to outdated unit costs: ₹200-300 crore. Investor/stakeholder confidence loss from opacity: immeasurable, but demonstrates regulatory immaturity that delays private nuclear investment (₹26 billion target mentioned in search results).Scholar M.V. Ramana (2013) documented absence of 'reliable estimates' for India's decommissioning costs. Sarma (cited in search results) noted: 'The actual cost of decommissioning an aged nuclear power plant can far exceed the unit cost element factored into the tariff structure at present… this implies a hidden subsidy.' Neither NPCIL nor AERB provided RTI responses with actual decommissioning cost estimates. This forces decision-makers to rely on 30-year-old unit assumptions (2 paise/kWh) applied to plants never studied for site-specific remediation needs.