U. K. electricity industry

In the U.K. electricity industry, no empirical evidence was found to indicate that financial difficulties were associated with safety problems, since the privatized nuclear plants became very profitable following deregulation. A contributing factor to this financial success was the fact that the structure of the U.K. privatization process provided significant subsidies for nuclear power, thus helping to ensure the profitability of the country s privatized nuclear operating company in the years immediately following privatization. 

In the U.K. electricity industry, there were dramatic reductions in nuclear research and development (R D) funding—cuts of well over 50% in six years. This was primarily associated with the fact that no new reactor orders are anticipated at present in the U.K. However, the observed cuts in R D expenditures could reduce the levels of expertise available to deal with critical safety problems that may arise. For example, the reduced funding could result in R D staffing levels falling below a critical mass, or lead to attrition of the most talented researchers. The U.K. nuclear power industry also experienced problems with loss of specialized skills among the technical support staff. 

We begin this chapter with a brief overview of the concept of economic deregulation, as implemented both in the U.S. electricity industry and in other industries. We then discuss the approach taken in this book to understanding the effects of deregulation on nuclear power safety. In particular, our approach rests on a detailed review of how economic deregulation has affected safety in three other industries with important similarities to the U.S. nuclear power industry—namely, the U.S. air and rail industries, and the nuclear power industry in the United Kingdom (U.K.). 

The nuclear power sector of the U.K. electricity supply industry also experienced dramatic reorganization and downsizing after deregulation, coupled with increased use of contractors. Problems identified in the aftermath of these changes triggered safety regulators to impose a new license condition on reactors in the U.K. 

Barnett, H. J., and Morse, C. (1963). Scarcity and Growth The Economics of Natural Resource Availability. Baltimore Johns Hopkins Press for Resources for the Future. Brennan, T. J. Palmer, K. L. Koop, R. J. Ki upmck, A. J. Stagliano, V. and Burtraw, U. (1996). A Shock to the System Restructuring America s Electricity Industry. Washington, DC Resources for the Future. 

Smith, PR. 1971. The determination of equilibrium relative humidity or water activity in foods A literature review. The British Food Manufacturing Industries Research Association, U.K. Stekelenburg, F.K. and Labots, H. 1991. Measurement of water activity with an electric hygrometer. Ini. J. Food Sci. Technol. 26 111-116. Stoloff, L. 1978. Calibration of water activity measuring instruments and devices Collaborative study. J. AOAC 61 1166-1178. 

His approach to the specification and assessment of analytical performance and to the control of analytical errors formed the basis of the standard practices of both the electricity generating and water industries in the U.K. Over the years the former Department of the Environment, in its Harmonised Monitoring Scheme, and the World Health Organization, in its Global Environment s Standing Committee of Analysts have ineorporated his ideas on performance characterisation in their published methods. 

In Table 8.3 the supply of energy to the chemical industry is shown as 5.1 mtoe with petroleum (oil) and natural gas being more important than coal, but electricity being the most important contributor. The total consumption of energy by industry in the U.K. is 36.2 mtoe so the chemical industry takes 14.1% of the energy used in industry. The 5.1 mtoe consumed by the chemical industry is exceeded only by the 7.2 mtoe consumed by the iron and steel industry. 

One other source of energy of importance to the chemical industry is combined heat and power (CHP), which is defined to be an installation where there is simultaneous generation of usable heat and power. This is actively promoted by government since the efficiency may be greater than 70% when the by-product heat from electricity generation is used in a productive way. The chemical industry offers good opportunities for the use of CHP. The chemical industry accounted for 31% of electricity output and 38% of heat output from CHP used in the U.K. in 1993. A measure of the importance of CHP is shown by the fact that CHP accounted for 5% of all electricity generated in the U.K. in 1993. 

Table 8.5 Prices (in pence per GJ) of fuels and electricity used by U.K. industry...

The sweeping transformation of the British ESI that began in 1988 for the purpose of privatizing the electricity sector and increasing market efficiency had substantial impacts on hardware reliability, human factors, and safety regulation in the U.K. nuclear power industry. Those impacts are each briefly discussed below. 

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