Report: 2 Dominion Virginia Power stations low-cost leaders

Dominion Virginia Power's North Anna and Surry power stations were the lowest-cost producers of nuclear-generated electricity in the U.S., on average, from 2010 to 2012, a recent Nucleonics Week report said.

"Safety, operational excellence and low costs are goals we strive for every day," David Heacock, Dominion Virginia Power's chief nuclear officer, said. "Key to our low-cost performance is our highly skilled and experienced work force, in addition to having identical units. It is gratifying to see that we have been very successful when compared to other operating nuclear units."

Nucleonics Week, a newsletter and online database, said the average production costs at North Anna and Surry  from 2010 through 2012 were approximately $16.05 and $17.38 per megawatt-hour, respectively. Meanwhile, North Anna was the lowest-cost producer of nuclear-generated electricity for 2012, and Surry ranked as the fifth-lowest-cost producer, out of the 27 stations that reported costs. North Anna and Surry's operations and maintenance costs totaled $14.76 and $20.21 per megawatt-hour, respectively.

"We have a huge advantage in being able to share spare parts, and share work force and procedures," Heacock said. He also said the company benefits from performing more work in-house, which provides a significant cost advantage over other nuclear operators.

Nucleonics Week is published by Platts, a McGraw Hill Financial unit that is a leading global provider of energy and commodities data.