The average total cost of generating electricity from US nuclear power plants, combining capital, fuel and operating expenses, came to about $33.74 per megawatt-hour in 2024, according to cost data compiled by the Nuclear Energy Institute. Operating costs alone, which cover day-to-day plant expenses excluding capital and fuel, averaged $20.48 per megawatt-hour, a 3.2 percent increase from 2023.

Industry cost tracking shows nuclear generating costs have declined substantially since peaking in the early 2010s, when combined production costs ran well above $40 per megawatt-hour in current dollars, as utilities extended plant operating lives, improved maintenance scheduling and reduced unplanned outages across the fleet.

Existing, already-built reactors currently produce electricity in the range of $25 to $35 per megawatt-hour, a cost profile that has kept continued operation of the current fleet economically competitive even as construction costs for new large reactors remain far higher. New nuclear construction carries substantially higher upfront capital costs that are recovered over decades of operation, a factor regulators and utilities weigh when comparing life extension of existing plants against building new capacity.

The cost data comes as demand for firm, round-the-clock power grows alongside data center and industrial electricity use, with utilities and policymakers citing the relatively low operating cost of paid-off, already-operating reactors as a factor in extending plant licenses rather than retiring reactors on their original 40-year timelines.

Source: Nuclear Energy Institute -- https://www.nei.org/resources/reports-briefs