The top members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Monday asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to delay collecting charges and fees from nuclear licensees for no less than 90 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-Del.), along with Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), asked for a reply to their letter today from the federal regulator. The NRC said Tuesday it was working on a response.
“We ask you to provide additional time for annual charges to operating nuclear power plants, payments due by entities that hold a license to possess radioactive materials, and collection of fees for service, if such delay does not interfere with NRC’s mission. We believe the NRC should consider deferring the fee collection for at least 90 days,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter notes the coronavirus-related economic hardships faced by utilities, medical facilities, and other NRC licensees – along with the ratepayers who provide the money power companies use to pay those fees. The lawmakers observed that the second-quarter fees for fiscal 2020 were due Tuesday.
Each power-producing reactor pays roughly $4.7 million annually in NRC fees, meaning the letter is asking that about $1.2 million for the second quarter be deferred for up to 90 days.
The NRC collects 90% of its annual funding from fees on licensees and services.
This request follows the agency’s decision Saturday to allow nuclear power plants to request exemptions from some staffing requirements to help ensure continuity of operations during the pandemic.
