Scottish Nuclear, the company

A former chief executive of Scottish Nuclear, formed when United Kingdom electricity generation was privatized, describes the financial viability of the company and considers the future of nuclear power. Scottish Nuclear owns and operates the Advanced Gas Cooled (AGR) and Magnox reactors at Hunterston and the AGR reactor at Torness and is a separate company from those dealing with hydro-electric and non-nuclear generation of electricity. Costs of running the reactors is identified as a proportion of the whole for certain key issues such as station costs, depreciation, decommissioning and insurance. While nuclear power generation using outmoded Magnox reactors is costly, the ecological cost of global warming is seen as more of a problem. Future policy for nuclear power in Scotland must include new plant, probably pressurized water reactors and a clear policy of safety enhancement. (UK)