People's Democracy

Will The Congress Answer?

The following is an extract from the report entitled �A Road Map to Deploy New Nuclear Power Plants in the United States by 2010� dated October 31, 2001 prepared by the US Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee:

��.Despite this excellent performance, no new nuclear plants have been ordered in the US in the last 23 years. The extended hiatus in new plant construction is due primarily to economic factors. Nuclear plants are capital intensive, and many of the US nuclear construction projects in the late 1970s and 80s were hampered by expensive delays, caused by engineering and management problems, a cumbersome regulatory process and in some cases by public opposition..�.Deregulation of electricity supply in the US has added a level of economic uncertainty that temporarily discourages the major capital investment and long-term commitment required for new nuclear plant construction�..

�..an increase in nuclear-produced electricity, and therefore the design, licensing and construction of new plants, will be needed to meet the nation's growing need for safe, clean and economical electricity generation. This vital role of nuclear power is a central message of the President's National Energy Policy.�

Is this message of US president a mandate for India's energy policy? Will the Congress party answer?