[NukeNet] Fitch Report: Credit Implications for U.S. Nuclear Power

[MoJo]

I have not had the time to read this report yet - MoJo  Fitch Report: Credit Implications for U.S. Nuclear Power NEW YORK, Nov 03, 2006 -- BUSINESS WIRE    
  The ownership and operation of nuclear power plants can have a significant effect on the risk profile and credit ratings of U.S. utility companies, as discussed in a Fitch Ratings report. Nuclear ownership can accrue many benefits, including low and stable variable production costs and an absence of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the high cost of construction and the potentially severe financial effect of an extended outage warrant a careful inspection of a company's financial flexibility, liquidity resources and nuclear operating performance. 
  
   
  A combination of volatile energy markets potentially stricter environmental regulations and global warming concerns, along with investment incentives contained in the 2005 Energy Policy Act has revived interest in nuclear power plant construction. However, Fitch does not anticipate that the construction of a new nuclear plant in the United States will begin for at least 4-5 years, at the earliest. In the mean time, Fitch's primary credit concerns center on operating and regulatory risks, rather than construction and financing risks. 
   
  "The potential for an extended unplanned outage is the primary credit risk of nuclear ownership," said Robert Hornick, Senior Director, Fitch Global Power team. 
  Fitch's report, through a Q&A format, outlines the major credit risk of owning, operating and constructing nuclear facilities and Fitch's approach to rating companies with nuclear exposure. The full report 'U.S. Nuclear Power: Credit Implications' can be found at www.fitchratings.com. 
   
  Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. 
  SOURCE: Fitch Ratings 


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"We've never been 'stay the course,' George." - George Bush to George Stephanopoulos on ABC This Week October 22, 2006  

“Cowardice asks the question: is it safe? Expediency asks the question: is it politic? Vanity asks the question: is it popular? But conscience asks the question: is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular- but one must take it simply because it is right.” : Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1968

Molly Johnson 
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