Callan, a prominent institutional investment consulting firm, has unveiled the findings from its 2025 Nuclear Decommissioning Funding Study, highlighting a substantial growth in nuclear decommissioning trust (NDT) fund balances. The study reveals that NDT fund balances totaled an impressive $100 billion in 2024, reflecting a significant increase of nearly $20 billion, or 23.5%, from 2022.
The driving force behind this increase has been attributed primarily to favorable stock market conditions, particularly with the S&P 500 witnessing a remarkable 58% rise in cumulative terms over the 2023-2024 period. Julia Moriarty, a key author of the study and co-manager of Callan’s Capital Markets Research group, noted the disparity between asset growth and minimal cost increases. The costs associated with nuclear decommissioning rose only 2.3% from 2022, enabling the funded status to surge dramatically from 82.5% in 2022 to an unprecedented 99.6% in 2024.
This comprehensive study encompasses data from 24 investor-owned utilities and 27 public power utilities that have an ownership stake in the 94 operating nuclear reactors and 14 inactive reactors across the United States. NDTs are specifically allocated for covering the expenses related to the decommissioning of closed nuclear power plants.
Key findings from the study include:
– NDT fund balances escalated from $81 billion in 2022 to $100 billion in 2024, primarily propelled by stock market performance.
– The total funding status reached 99.6% in 2024, the highest figure recorded since the inception of the study in 2007, representing a marked increase from 82.5% in 2022.
– Investor-owned funds constituted approximately 89% of the NDT fund balance, with public power funds making up the remaining 11%.
– The ratio of assets to costs reached record highs, hitting 103.7% for investor-owned utilities and 76.4% for public power utilities within the same timeframe.
– Notably, total contributions to decommissioning efforts plummeted to $163 million in 2024, a striking decline of $208 million, or 56%, compared to $371 million in 2022.
– Decommissioning cost estimates have escalated by over $30 billion since 2010, totaling more than $100 billion in 2024, which marks a $2.2 billion, or 2.3%, increase since 2022.
Callan, established in 1973 as an employee-owned investment consulting firm, continues to empower institutional clients through innovative and tailored investment solutions, supported by proprietary research and data. With advisory services extending to clients with over $3 trillion in assets, Callan ranks among the largest independently owned investment consulting firms in the U.S.
For more in-depth analysis, the summary blog post and full survey are available on Callan’s website.
