Based off its Decommissioning Cost Estimate (DCE), Holtec is confident that sufficient funding is available to safely complete Oyster Creek’s decommissioning. Management and use of the Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Fund (DTF) is regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Though the DTF is expected to continue to grow, NRC regulations only allow licensees to assume a conservative minimum two percent real rate of return which takes inflation and other cost increases into consideration. In addition, licensees are required to submit an annual report to the NRC on decommissioning costs. If the NRC believed the DTF was insufficient, they can impose restrictions if the balance were to be off significantly — the NRC could ask to stop work or require additional funding into the DTF before decommissioning work can proceed.
