"Exelon cuts dividend by 41%," as NRC investigates "deliberate" deception regarding decommissioning funds

Between the Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg, Crain's Chicago Business, and Reuters, it has been reported in recent days that Exelon Nuclear: has seen its stock price drop by two-thirds since 2008; is under investigation by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for "deliberate" deception involving a billion dollar shortfall in its decommissioning funds; and has cancelled $2.3 billion in risky power uprates at age-degraded reactors, in order to shore up its credit rating and increase shareholder dividends.

U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) has long shined a spotlight on the inadequacy of decommissioning funds across the nuclear power industry, as by requesting Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigations into NRC oversight (or lack thereof).

Ironically, Exelon, the largest nuclear utility in the U.S., is looking to expand holdings in its renewables (wind, solar) portfolio, in order to improve its return on investment in the short term. However, it is also poised to gouge its ratepayers at the earliest opportunity, by increasing the price it charges for nuclear electricity. More.