Nuclear protects low-income households, which are disproportionately affected by volatile electricity prices.

• The overall generation costs of nuclear plants are less susceptible to price volatility than fossil plants. Rising fuel costs can have an inequitably high impact on lower-income households.
• Using nuclear power enables those countries with limited domestic fossil fuel reserves to have greater control over their own energy systems.

The unequal access to energy within and among countries has considerable detrimental impacts on individuals and economies around the world, ranging from ambient air pollution to price shocks brought on by supply shortages. Energy can – and has – been used as a political tool, and energy systems that rely heavily on imported fossil fuels are susceptible to external influence. This often particularly harms the most vulnerable, individuals as well as countries. Nuclear energy can help to reduce these inequalities.

Uranium, which fuels nuclear reactors, can be found in abundance in many locations globally. Nuclear fuel can easily be stored onsite for many years, providing an insurance against potential supply issues. This diversified supply chain and ease of storage provides nations with greater control over their own energy systems, thus reducing the considerable inequalities that currently exist among countries.

Nuclear reactors also help to protect individuals against the price shocks that disproportionately affects low-income households. Whilst fuel costs for fossil-fired plants can make up a very large percentage of their overall costs – thus exposing consumers to extreme price changes – the fuel costs of nuclear power plants make up less than 10% of the overall cost, so variations in the cost of uranium have a much smaller impact on overall generation costs. This means that nuclear energy also can help reduce inequalities by protecting low-income households from disproportionately paying for market volatility.

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