Why can’t the nuclear plant owners pay for them? Are all nuclear power plants owned by the government??? Serious question.
The plant owners would generally be the shareholders of the utility company. That might include your pension plan.
According to the article, the government is not making the loans. The government is guaranteeing the loans. Sort of like a co-signer.
This should allow the utility companies to pay a lower interest rate on the loans, which will actually save the rate-payers (the consumers) money in the long run.
That's the executive summary version of how that might work.
See post #18.
Nuclear plants take years to design and to go through the bureaucratic process. Billions$ are involved, interest accrues and unnecessary delay makes them "too expensive" to build," the strongest weapon in the arsenal of the obstructive mindless opponents of everything nuclear.
The opponents have nothing to lose, and they feel big and empowered in being able to keep an entire country frustrated and hostage to foreign powers, their other weapon. Are many aware that OPEC is a major funder of anti-nuclear groups?
These are not bailouts
These are not payouts
These are not subsidies
They're not even loans
They are loan guarantees. The government is telling the banks that these four utilities are good loans. These four utilities are large and are performing well. These are low risk loans to begin with. But now the banks that will make the loans have an added level of comfort because the government is cosigning the loan...it makes it easier for the utilities to get loans for new plants and the banks have a no-brainer investment at a time when all other investments are very risky.
The $18.5 billion is going to sit inside the Treasury department and will probably never leave the Treasury department.