On November 8, 2023, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) released a new report analyzing 17 utility integrated resource plan (IRP) filings submitted between August 2019 and March 2023 to identify important trends regarding nuclear energy for consideration by state utility regulators.[1] The report, titled Nuclear Generation in Long-Term Utility Resource Planning, identified three overarching trends. First, most regulated utilities are aware of advanced nuclear technologies, but the limited time horizon in many IRPs while the anticipated deployment dates for many advanced technologies fall outside that time frame. Furthermore, uncertainties around the technological maturity, costs, and financial risks, as well as persistent state-level prohibitions on the construction of new nuclear facilities, can deter utilities from including advanced nuclear in IRPs.

A second finding of the report is that several utilities included in NARUC’s review—PacifiCorp, Idaho Power, Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, and the Tennessee Valley Authority—have explicitly included advanced nuclear in their IRPs. Third, most utilities propose keeping existing nuclear resources online to maintain reliability and progress toward decarbonization goals. This plan includes keeping ownership stakes in nuclear plants and extending the operating life of existing nuclear units. Key benefits of keeping existing nuclear online include employment, economic contributions to local communities, reliability, and clean energy.

[1] https://www.naruc.org/about-naruc/press-releases/new-report-reviews-nuclear-energy-in-long-term-utility-resource-planning/