HL Deb 25 November 1986 vol 482 c534WA
Lord Hylton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the following kinds of cost have been fully taken into account in assessing the real cost of electricity produced by nuclear power stations and in pricing their output:

  1. (a) Actual rather than estimated constructions;
  2. (b) The cost of managing, storing and disposing of all radioactive and other waste products;
  3. (c) Total insurance costs against accident and third-party risks during the working life of the plant;
  4. (d) Costs of decommissioning when plants reach the end of their working life; and how these costs affect the price of nuclear-generated electricity.

Viscount Davidson

The way in which the Central Electricity Generating Board takes these costs into account is shown in the bookletAnalysis of Generating Costs which has been published by the Board. As the matter is complex, may I refer the noble Lord to the booklet, a copy of which is in the Library of the House?

All these costs referred to are included in that CEGB publication on a lifetime basis (illustration iv) and account for approximately 60 per cent. of the overall costs of nuclear-generated electricity. The final price to the consumer is related to the overall costs of the electricity supply industry. In general, nuclear-generated electricity is expected to reduce the average cost of generation and hence the final price to the consumer.