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Oncor Reports $229 Million in Profits While Texans Pay Higher Electric Rates

Oncor is supposed to be Texas’ largest regulated utility, and they are milking residents for an extra $60 million in profits during the scorching heat wave this summer.

As sweltering temperatures has driven electricity usage to new highs this summer (2022), Dallas-based Oncor’s quarterly profit soared an extra $60M in just one quarter to $229 million. The quarterly profits didn’t include July, which was one of the states hottest months on record.

Oncor CEO Allen Nye thinks is has been a great quarter… for the company. For residents fighting economic slowdowns and inflation, not so much.

The second quarter brought on record heat, beginning one of the hottest summers on record. That heat has led to several new peak demand records, with ERCOT peak demand of nearly 80,000 megawatts for the first time in July. The market continues to grow and will require new generation, transmission and distribution resources. Oncor’s service area, the largest in the state, covers all of North Texas and parts of West Texas, Central Texas and East Texas. Oncor will need to be ready to make the investments necessary to support the needs of the growing state. The Texas company added 19,000 additional premises and saw a 73% increase in new transmission point-of-interconnection requests in the second quarter, which is an all-time record for new transmission interconnection requests.

There is also an increase in major manufacturing expected to arrive in Oncor’s service territory over the next several years.

A $5 billion silicon wafer manufacturing facility being built by GlobiTech has been approved, on top of another $30 billion semiconductor wafer manufacturing plant project being undertaken by Texas Instruments, both in Sherman. A Samsung chip manufacturing facility, estimated at $17 billion, is also coming to Taylor in central Texas.

Oncor does not charge customers; instead, customers buy electricity through providers, known as Retail Electric Providers, and Oncor charges the providers for delivering their electricity. The company charges REPs a fixed amount monthly for each customer, plus a charge for how much electricity is used by the customer. Yet, they continue to increase their fees, which end of forcing Retail Electricity Providers to increase the electric rate they charge customers.

Profits Over Residential Electricity Customers

Oncor is justifying the profit grab because it believes the territory has become a powerhouse for manufacturing critical to the future economic and national security of the United States. The profits were driven by increases in revenues from higher customer consumption attributable primarily to significantly warmer weather in the second quarter of 2022 and other factors, including increases in electric rates, the company said in a news release.

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Other Ways to Lower Your Electricity Bill

Electricity Prices Are Going Up – Here Are Other Ways to Save

August 4, 2022
Why Utility Bills are More Expensive Right Now

Everyone in Texas is being confronted with the reality of high and escalating energy bills (gas and electricity). Many commercial and residential customers are paying at least 50% more than they did for electric bills at this time last year.

Meanwhile, the state is exporting more natural gas than it has ever before. And since the cost of electricity in Texas is tightly tied directly to the price of natural gas, many business owner’s electricity bills are through the roof with no end to the escalation in site. The concern is that many people are going to be shocked when their bills start coming in 30-60 days from now.

So what is spushing gas and electric bills up so high? Texas power plants run on natural gas.

It’s mainly the price of natural gas… it has rocketed up more than 200% since late February when Russia, a top gas-producing country, invaded Ukraine and upended the world’s energy market. Since then, Texas, the leading natural gas-producing state in the U.S., has not been able to ramp up production enough to keep offering residents cheap electricity.

Since the war in Ukraine began, Texas has been sending most of the natural gas or LNG (liquified natural gas) to Europe as many countries boycott Russian gas, oil, and energy. Europe is fortunate that the U.S. Congress lifted the ban on oil and gas exports back in 2015. Now countries are qeueing up purchase Texas’ gas. At the same time, demand for natural gas has also been growing within the state because
business in Texas hsa been booming attracting more residents. Furthermore, a super-hot spring and early summer also have driven power-usage to record-high levels.

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We FORCE electricity companies to compete! Electricity providers will offer a lower price to us because they know they are competing for the business. This drives your price down!

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How long will Texans see higher utility bills?

With the war in Ukraine dragging on and upending the world energy market, Texas electricity providers are cautioning customers that the high rates will likely linger for months. Like the rest of the country, the hike in utility bills comes during difficult financial times for people facing high prices at grocery stores and the fuel pump due to inflation.

On the other side of the coin, the high prices will benefit Texas’ gas producer, and the state benefits from high oil and gas prices in the form of jobs and state taxes on oil and gas production. Cities located in the state’s oil fields usually benefit even more.

No Growth in Energy Production

Even though demand is going up, the oil and gas industry isn’t seeing major production growth because of a backlog of equipment needed. That supply chain issue stems from the pandemic. Though companies are trying to hire, there’s also a shortage of labor across most of the oilfield services. It has been a struggle to get qualified people into the positions that big oil and gas need right now.

Is the price of natural gas the only cause of high electricity prices?

The state’s main power grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, has been managing the grid more cautiously and is no longer prioritizing providing Texans cheap power. ERCOT’s prmary focus these days is the grid’s reliability, especially during extreme weather. That means power plants that produce electcity are being asked to stay online and available just in case. Consequently, the state is paying generators a pre-set price to operate no matter what happens. This is quite wasteful… the need for “security” or continuity of power is driving up electricity rates. Before the power grid calamity in 2021, electrciity producers ramped up or went offline based on market demand.

Due to poor administration, Texans are paying for last year’s grid disaster… and will for years.

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Other Ways to Lower Your Electricity Bill

Electricity Prices Are Going Up – Here Are Other Ways to Save

July 5, 2022
Concerned About Electricity Prices? Here’s an Annual Electric Rate Comparison

If you are not sure if electricity prices have been going up, have a look at this!

The data has been compiled by the PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas) from REPs (Retail Electric Providers) and PUC approved price to beat rates using representative usage levels. The rates are calculated using the Commission Approved Residential Load Profile for each service area. This is not intended to make any kind of a recommendation for our clients to utilize a particular electricity provider.

Although the Public Utility Commission of Texas works hard to make sure the prices are accurate, Wizard Energy Savings and the PUC makes no warranty that the prices in these archives are currently being offered.

The average prices shown in these documents represent average annual prices per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Because Some REPs charge rates that vary by season or usage level, the actual average price listed on a your bill for any given month will probably differ from that listed here.

Electricity Prices in 2019

March 2019

June 2019

September 2019

December 2019

Electricity Prices in 2020

March 2020

June 2020

September 2020

December 2020

Electricity Prices in 2021

March 2021

June 2021

September 2021

December 2021

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If you want to go back further, the archive goes all the way back to 2002… click here.

How to Get The Best Electricity Rates in Sugar Land, TX

June 15, 2022
The Texas Heat & Electricity Prices Go Up! ERCOT Notice
Texas expects record-high electricity demand this week, so the Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued an operating condition notice ahead of forecasted triple-digit temperatures across the state.

The spike in demand is likely to raise electricity prices.

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CALL US: 713-396-0090

The notice is the first tier of ERCOT’s alerts says it has enough resources available to meet forecast demand. The Texas grid has yet to see mass blackouts this year.

ERCOT is issuing an OCN [Operating Conditions Notice] for the extreme hot weather with forecasted temperatures to be above 103°F in the North Central and South Central weather zones, from Friday, June 10 2022 until Monday, June 13, 2022. The normal high in those areas are 91 F this time of year.

Back in May, Texas experienced back-to-back weekends of record-breaking heat and corresponding electricity demand. Regulators forecasted in May that the grid will have ample generation to meet the increased level of power usage brought on by this summer’s heat. In May the regulatory body issued its first power consumption notice, asking Texas residents to meter their energy usage and avoid using large machinery such as washing machines during prime windows over the course of a particularly hot weekend. Now in June, Texas broke the record on Monday and Tuesday and will keep rising this week until it tops the all-time high as economic growth boosts usage and hot weather causes homes and businesses to crank up their air conditioners.
- Monday Demand: 72,386 MW
- Tuesady Demand 72,785 MW
- Wednesday Forecast: 75,305 MW
- Thursday Forecast: 77,166 MW
(previous record for June just last year was 70,257 MW)
(all time high is 74,820 MW set in August 2019)

One megawatt (1 MW) normally powers 1000 homes. On a summer day in Texas is only services 200 homes. ERCOT expects new wind and solar power plants added over the past year would increase resources available this summer to 91,392 MW. Even with tht extra supply, demand is spiking and will drive up electricity prices.

Electricity Prices Are Going Up – Here Are Other Ways to Save
June 8, 2022
How to Get The Best Electricity Rates in Sugar Land, TX
You’re current electricity contract is coming up and you recently checked on rates for electricity.

SHOCK!

Electricity prices are crazy high in Texas right now and are expected to trend higher. What can you do… whether you are searching for your business or home, should you use an independent broker to get the best electric rates in Sugar Land?

Answer: Absolutely… and it costs you nothing!

Wizard energy is an independent electricity/energy broker that forces big energy companies to compete for your business. To best electric rates in Sugar Land, we make the electricity providers bid with their best possible rate. When they bid for one of our clilents, they know that Wizard Energy gives them the opportunity to bid on dozens of other customers every year. Collectively, this drives your price down!

GET THE BEST ELECTRICTY RATE

We love to hustle in order to lower your electric bill and save you money…

…so you make your business better without worrying about overhead!

CONTACT US TODAY

CALL US: 713-396-0090

We get you the best possible electric rate no matter what. People are also asking:

Who has the lowest rate for electricity?
Who has the cheapest electricity rates in Texas?
What hours is electricity the cheapest?
Who has the highest electric rates in Texas?
How do I reduce my electric bill?
How many kWh per day is normal?
How can I get cheap electricity in Texas?
What is the best electric plan in Texas?
What is the average electric bill in Texas?
How do I choose a Texas electric provider?

These are things that we are more than happy to explain to you, but you don’t have to bother with.

In addition to making electricity companies compete for your business, another reason we get better pricing is because the electricity companies know we help many clients. When a single business owner goes directly to an energy company, you’re offering them one (1) contract. Compare this to Wizard Energy giving them the opportunity to bid on dozens of customers every year… who do you think is more likely to get a better price?

Do you have time to scour companies and plans for the best electricity rates in Sugar Land?

Wizard Energy has the experience and know-how to request bids from all the electricity companies, review the terms and small print (we know what to look for), and select the best rate based on the market condition and constantly changing prices.

Wizard Energy Handles The Time-Consuming Business to Get The Best Rate
- Review of your electricity usage and load profile
- Request bids from electricity providers
- Analyze electricity contracts and review fine print
- Review electric bills and rates to make sure of your rate
More Reasons Why We Get You The Best electricity Rate in Sugar Land

We offer our clients independent, personal service. We are impartial and not tied to any electricity provider, big or small. We compare more than 20 suppliers to help find the right deal for each individual business.

Electricity can be one of the greatest operating expenses a company faces, so we’ll make sure you’re getting the best energy rate possible by making big electricity companies compete for your business.

Wizard Energy does all the legwork for you. We analyze your energy usage, speak to suppliers, and gather all the options so that all you need to do is select the deal that suits you. It’s pretty obvious… LOWEST PRICE!

Electricity Prices Are Going Up – Here Are Other Ways to Save
June 2, 2022
Electricity Prices Are Only Going to Go Up – Here’s How to Save

Demand for power this summer is expected to shatter previous records, ERCOT revealed in a What can you do about a high electricity bill? If your monthly energy costs in your Texas home are becoming an unpleasant surprise for you, relief can be found in your electricity usage.

Ways to Reduce Your Electricity Bill

1. Lower Electricity Bill: Do laundry in cold water and reduce the number of loads

Did you know that 90% of the energy the washing machine uses goes towards heating water? Save energy by saving your laundry until you can do a single large load instead of multiple small loads in cold water.

2. Lower Electricity Bill: Shorter showers

Less time heating water means less energy usage (electricity or natural gas). Sustainable showering can help reduce your carbon footprint, save water, and save on your electricity bill.

3. Lower Electricity Bill: Seals your windows and doors tight

Proper insulation goes a long way in keeping your nice cold air INSIDE the house where it belongs, especially during hot Texas summers. In winter, those seals keep the cold weather out and the heat in.

4. Lower Electricity Bill: Turn the Air Conditioner up when away from home… duh!

Don’t run the AC if no one will be at one to enjoy it! Save on your electricity bill by manually or automatically changing the temperature during peak times when no one is home.

Maybe use a dehumidifier in areas with high humidity. Dehumidifiers are a great tool to reduce the moisture in your home, which in turn reduces how hard your AC has to work and extends the life of your unit.

5. Lower Electricity Bill: Buy energy-efficient appliances

ENERGY STAR® is a government-backed symbol for evaluating if an appliance is energy efficient. When buying a new appliance, see if it is certified. Those appliances can reduce your overall kilowatt usage compared to non-certified appliances.

6. Lower Electric Costs: Monitor your AC air filters

Most of our electricity usage is through the AC. Remember to check air filters regularly to see if they need to be replaced in order to promote airflow and allow your HVAC to function properly.

7. Lower Electric Costs: Start using LED bulbs

Residential LED bulbs use at least 75% less energy and last up to 5 times longer than incandescent lighting. This is an easy win!

8. Lower Electric Costs: Use dimmer switches on your lights

Dimmer switches save electricity by reducing the flow of energy into the bulb itself. It allows lights to operate with lower outputs and allows full control over the luminescence.

9. Lower Electric Costs: Don’t be lazy… Turn off lights and unplug appliances when not in use

Appliances and devices like the television, desk lamps, overhead lighting, and consoles should be powered down when not in use. Appliances still generate a small amount of heat when plugged in, so you can save even more by unplugging them from the socket.

10. Lower Electric Costs: Have an energy audit done at your home

Check for air leaks, check insulation, inspect your equipment, review your lighting and appliance usage, and making a plan with the household to set goals for saving energy.

More Ways to Reduce Your Energy Cost & Electric Bill

11. Lower Electric Bill: Stay in one room

If you’re working from home, the key is to create a home office—and stay there. Concentrating your workday in one room lets you limit your electricity usage to that space: you’ll only need one fan, one lamp, and so on. If you’re working on a laptop computer, try not to keep it plugged in at all times. Instead, let the battery life carry you through the day until you need to charge again.

12. Lower Electric Bill: Isolate Heat

Turn off your oven and any unnecessary electronics that produce heat, like lamps with incandescent bulbs. This will help you use less power while also avoiding the warmth they can add to your living space. If you have a grill or cooking fire pit outside, use it, but if you must turn on the oven or stove, isolate its ambient heat by closing your kitchen off from the rest of your home. This can be as simple as closing some doors, setting up a privacy screen, or hanging a heavy blanket over any open areas. If you go for that last option, we recommend nailing the cloth up like you’re hanging a painting (the wood that forms the side of any opening should continue straight up to the ceiling)—tape can strip the paint off your walls.

13. Lower Electric Bill: Empty your outlets

Unplug anything you aren’t using. Even empty phone and laptop chargers draw a small amount of electricity from the outlets they’re plugged into—and the same goes for your toaster, kettle, video game console, and more. It adds up!

14. Lower Electric Bill: Dry your clothes outdoors

Clothes dryers use a huge amount of electricity. In fact, they can consume as much power as a fridge, a washing machine, and a dishwasher combined. Summer is the perfect time to forego your clothes dryer and hang your laundry outdoors to dry instead. Let the hot sun and fresh air do their thing, and save money while you’re at it.

May 24, 2022
Legal Arguments on $9,000 Electricity Rates in Texas

The Texas Public Utility Commission’s February 2021 emergency rules allowing an increase in electric rates to $9,000 per megawatt hour in response to Winter Storm were invalid and screwed up the state’s power system.

Dallas-based Luminant Energy asked a 3-judge panel in the Texas Third Court of Appeals in Austin to declare that the PUC illegally adopted two pricing rules during the historic storm that allowed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to increase the emergency price of electricity 650% for five days.

The PUC contended that the energy companies are simply upset because they lost money during Winter Storm and extreme weather conditions.

Many argue that the PUC decision to set rates at $9,000 for the five days during the winter storm forced many electric providers to pay billions to provide power to their residential and commercial customers, while other electric companies profited by selling power at high rates.

Impact on Providers & Electric Rates

The decision by the Austin Court of Appeals will dramatically impact the efforts by more than a dozen electric providers challenging their ERCOT invoices.

The winter storm that hit Texas on Feb. 14, 2021, caused the electricity to go out in large portions of the state, especially in the Houston area. Power demand surged in other metro areas, and at the same time, many electric generators went off-line because natural gas providers were unable to supply product to electric generators.

Sneaky Electricity Price Manipulation

In a six-minute meeting Feb. 15, the PUC decided to address the gap between supply and demand by issuing an emergency reset of the maximum price to $9,000 per megawatt hour, which is way up from $1,200. It also made the $9,000 price retroactive to Feb. 14. The next day, however, the PUC met again and rescinded the retroactive part of its order.

Electricity Price Competition

The high-stakes litigation pits the energy companies against each other… Houston-based Pattern Energy, Exelon Generation and Constellation NewEnergy are supporting Luminant in the litigation. All are fighting multibillion-dollar charges as a result of the $9,000 price. Lawyers argued that both emergency pricing rules were invalid for multiple reasons, including the fact that the PUC never filed the rule change with the Secretary of State’s office. This is a case where the agency disregarded legal procedures. It did not follow the law. The PUC has staked out extreme and unprecedented positions.

Houston-based Calpine Corporation, Talen Energy and TexGen Power support the PUC position. Spring, Texas-based DGP2 and Distributed Solutions argue that the first PUC rule is valid but the second-day rule rescinding retroactivity was illegal. Companies like Luminant are just using the litigation to try to shift their market losses to other parties.

Texas Assistant Solicitor General, Lisa Bennett (representing the PUC), told the judges that the PUC did not violate Texas law because the agency’s actions were a direction to ERCOT, not rulemaking. She argued that the law provides wide discretion for the PUC to make such decisions because the PUC’s actions were taken during an extreme emergency and because there was a flaw in the system – there were negative reserves, but the price was not going up.

Hindsight

When the emergency passed, market participants assessed the financial outcomes of the complex actions they and others had taken in the market during the storm, and some suffered staggering losses. In hindsight, some market participants now want to blame the PUC for their losses and argue that the orders were illegal all along.

May 3, 2022
Energy Crisis: Russia Cuts Gas Flow to Poland & Bulgaria

Oil is going up again after Russia cut natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, escalating the energy crisis.

West Texas Intermediate traded above $102 a barrel after going up another 3.2% Tuesday. Add to that, European gas prices surged as much as 24% Wednesday after Russia halted flows to Poland and Bulgaria. Putin made good on a threat to stop supply to countries that refuse his demand to pay for the fuel in rubles, not Euro or U.S. Dollars.

Adding fuel to the fire of energy and electricity energy prices going up, Germany said a full embargo on Russian oil would be manageable, potentially laying the groundwork for a continent-wide ban that may upend global crude trade. The U.S. and U.K. have already pledged to ban imports from the OPEC+ producer too.

Electricity Prices Will Go Up

The renewed geopolitical risk to electricity prices has come as the tightest corner of the oil sector flared up again. U.S. diesel futures settled at a record Tuesday, while profits from making the fuel in Europe are the highest since 2011. Russia is Europe’s largest external supplier of the middle distillate. Russia’s latest actions provide an alarming glimpse of things to come for other EU members and has put energy security concerns front and center of the political agenda.

In Asia, there are some signs emerging from China that Shanghai may ease lockdown measures as infections dropped to the lowest in three weeks while case numbers in Beijing stabilized. President Xi Jinping also made a commitment to boost infrastructure construction to bolster the economy.

The API (American Petroleum Institute) reported that U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 4.78 million barrels last week. This may help ease some of the pain on electricity prices, but it may end up being negligible in the long run if Russia continues to antagonize the world.

April 27, 2022
Batteries, Solar, Wind and Hydropower Can Lower Electric Rates & Curb Rising Temps

The need to transition to renewable energy is becoming more urgent for many reasons.

The pace in which the world needs to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy needs to urgently accelerate as the threat from rising global temperatures increases each day increasing climate disasters and driving up electricity prices.

There is a more than 50% chance that temperatures will exceed 2C unless the climate pledges made leading up to the 2021 U.N. Climate Change Conference are not strictly adhered to. This increase would push global temperatures past the worst-case scenario and past the point that any human civilization in history has experienced.

Renewable to The Rescue of Climate and Electricity Rates

Renewable energy will be instrumental in reducing the global reliance of fossil fuels, the leading cause of the greenhouse emissions that are accelerating the warming. Even so, fossil fuels are deeply embedded in the foundation of the world economy. Making clothes, producing crops, and electricity for homes all involve processes that utilize crude oil, natural gas and coal. Most of the energy services, including electricity generation, are derived from fossil fuels. Global energy consumption has grown tenfold since the turn of the 20th century. Industrial manufacturing is the largest consumer of electricity/energy (33%), followed by transportation, and then residential. But the current energy model is not sustainable. It will need to change quickly to mitigate the dangerous warming that could plague generations to come.

“When you turn on your lights in 30 to 40 years, if everything goes well, the energy to power your home to get your electricity on is going to be powered by renewables.”
Molly Taft, Science Reporter – Gizmodo

The key to this lofty but attainable goal will be the decisions that the private sector and government make in the near future to prevent weather-climate disasters that drive of the cost of electricity and energy.

Fossil fuels, which contain carbon, release carbon dioxide when burned and interact with the oxygen in the atmosphere. Those greenhouse gases are the culprit for the “thermal instability” that is leading to an increase of severe weather events including drought, wildfires and rising sea levels. Scientists have found that since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased nearly 49%, which is more than the increase of the previous 20,000 years.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius, considered the conservative warming figure, will lead to further increases in those deadly extreme natural disasters. The world will see more intense storms, more intense wildfires, and intense rains. The renewable energy transition is about making sure it doesn’t get that much worse. And saving on electricity costs will allow the world to focus resources on other matters.

Cost competitive and renewable energy drawn from solar and wind power have the ability to become the primary energy source. The doubts that people had about whether the world could transition to another energy foundation have been disproven. Nevertheless, it will take a significant societal shift to change the course of the warming on the planet. The U.S.A. is far from reaching a net-zero carbon emissions economy, but over the last twenty years innovation has driven renewable prices down and demand is up… a factor impacting elevated electric costs. The majority of the responsibility lies on the industrial sector, but even something as simple as switching from gas-powered stoves to electric in homes will make a difference.

In addition, people who live in cities can add to the conservation effort by biking or taking public transportation. These adjustments will have additional benefits for all residents: cleaner air and less noise. Those who drive can switch to electric cars which will decrease the 337 million gallons of gasoline consumed by Americans per day.

However, the climate fight goes far beyond individual lifestyle changes. Even the shifting away from construction materials, such as steel and concrete that make up about 20% of global carbon dioxide emissions, will be necessary. There will also be an increased reliance on batteries in the future. Some will be used to store renewable energy sourced from wind and solar power. In addition, the cost of lithium ion has fallen 97% over the past three decades, making the use of batteries more affordable.

April 20, 2022
Revival Of Nuclear Energy May Help Lower Electric Rates Eventually

War in Ukraine is causing an energy reset. Western governments are rethinking dependence on Russian oil and gas, and it is a big opportunity for nuclear power to grow and help to lower electricity prices in Texas as well as the rest of the country and the world. Last week Britain announced it will begin developing small scale, modular nuclear power plants. The new energy path is a big win for uranium assets and electricity consumers.

The emergence of nuclear as a clean energy source seemed unlikely. Nuclear power has been derided for four decades. The number of plants globally peaked in 1996 when 17.5% of all electric power was generated in those facilities. Since then public has opinion soured and the political will to keep plants open waned.

Nuclear Energy Downfall

Electricity Prices Goes Up

Environmental movements gained global traction in the 1970s and nuclear energy was the perfect fall guy. Radiation poisoning was invisible and lethal. This was exploited in 1979 by The China Syndrome, a big budget Hollywood film that mirrored a partial meltdown earlier that year at Three Mile Island, a Pennsylvania nuclear facility. Although epidemiological studies later showed no increase in cancers in the area, fears of living near nuclear facilities grew exponentially.

A complete meltdown in 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor led to the depopulation of 68,000 people across 1,000 square miles in northern Ukraine. And 154,400 Japanese were evacuated in 2011 when a nuclear plant in Fukushima was damaged following an earthquake and tsunami.

Nuclear power plants all over the world began to close. Today these facilities generate only 10.3% of the world’s electricity. It is a contributing factor to electricitiy rates continuing to go higher and higher. The oddity is nuclear power is clean, green, sustainable and statistically much safer than most other forms of power generation, according to research compiled by Our World in Data.

Nuclear Power Can Be Green and Cheaper for Electricity

Nuclear facilities are essentially extremely large tea kettles. The power-generation process begins when a uranium atom is split in half to create fission. This releases a tremendous amount of energy. Rods of the fissionable material are cooled in water, creating steam that spins a turbine and creates electricity.

Most coal or natural gas power plants generate electricity the same way. The difference is uranium is a far more efficient source of energy. A single set of rods the size of a fireplace log holds enough energy to power 100 homes for a year. Uranium is also cleaner. Using it to create electricity does not release carbon into the atmosphere. This is especially as the world races toward zero emissions.

The Future of Nuclear Energy

The United Kingdom had 15 nuclear facilities operating in 1997, generating 27% of the country’s electricity. By 2024 only two plants will remain. With the help of Rolls Royce, Prime Minister Johnson wants to reverse the trend. The goal is to build smaller power generation facilities based on Rolls’ nuclear-powered submarine engines.

It might be the perfect solution for an economy shying away from carbon emissions, and the perils of dependence on Russia oil and gas. The Netherlands, Czechia, Poland, Estonia, Slovenia and Serbia are now studying their nuclear options. Also, the European Union has labelled nuclear power as a climate-friendly investment.

April 11, 2022