Consumers Would Be $3.9 Billion ‘Losers’ From Nuclear Subsidies

Expanding state aid to money-losing nuclear reactors across the Eastern U.S. could put consumers on the hook for as much as $3.9 billion a year in higher power bills.

Nuclear plant owners are seeking subsidies in Ohio, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey after Exelon Corp. won state aid for reactors in Illinois and New York last year. Should all 28,000 megawatts of nuclear power across northeast and mid-Atlantic states win subsidies at the same level as New York, ratepayers would face an annual $3.9 billion hike, according to a March 21 report by Bloomberg Intelligence.

Propping up nuclear reactors preserves ...