WHAT THE PARSONS STUDY REALLY SAYS ABOUT NUCLEAR POWER ECONOMICS: THE GRAND CANYON CONTROVERSY, ROUND

The principal conclusions of the Parsons study are: (1) Comparing nuclear alternatives with the hydroelectric plants on a peaking basis shows that the nuclear plants themselves will never pay out since the annual interest payments are greater than the net revenues as demonstrated in the Consolidated Payout Schedules herein. (2) This study also compares the funds accumulation from a base-loaded nuclear plant with those accumulated from the hydroelectric plants. While this comparison accrues the most funds from the various nuclear alternatives considered in this study, the funds accumulated are substantially less than those accumulated from the hydroelectric plants. (3) Even at the federal financing interest rate of 3.222%, the baseloaded nuclear power plants could not repay their costs if it were not for the outside contributions to the combined fund of revenues from Hoover, Parker, and Davis Dams in later years of the analysis. (4) Evaluating only the economics of nuclear energy production at the plants -- by neglecting all transmission costs -- the four nuclear plants, baseloaded, could not repay their costs if the aggregate fixed charge rate (including depreciation) were in excess of 6.1% per annum. See also AD-648 806.