The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners filed a motion Jan. 31 to reopen the nuclear waste fund case and suspend further collection by utilities for the $28 billion fund. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the organization claims that the 2013 report on the adequacy of the fund by the Department of Energy--which operates the trust--is “fundamentally flawed.” The organization noted that the federal government failed to consider whether there’s a “need” for further fee collection, as well as “assuming” that a radioactive waste disposal system is built in the future. The department maintains that the fees are necessary and a new nuclear waste repository be built. California nuclear-owning utilities are not named as separate petitioners in the motion, but have been in related cases.
