Jim Ostroff on the Cost of Electricity

Jim Ostroff, is the Associate Editor of The Kiplinger Letter. Yesterday offered the following account of recent electrical generating costs:

"the fact is nuclear power plants have a lot more going for them these days. Operating costs are generally lower than for any other type of power generation, running at an average of 1.7¢ per kilowatt-hour (kWh), well below the 2.4¢ average for coal-fired plants and 6.75¢ tally for natural-gas-fired generators. Although wind power compares relatively favorably, with operating costs as little as 2¢ per kWh, neither it nor more-expensive solar-generated power (with costs averaging 3.2¢ per kWh) is capable of producing the additional volume of power that will be needed during the next decade or two, according to Richard Baxter, a senior vice president with Ardour Capital Investments. Moreover, new nuclear plants should wind up with operating costs that are below the standard for the industry."