The national unemployment rate in February, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, was 8.1 percent-the highest since 1983-and some economists predict it will reach or exceed 9 percent by 2010. Gross domestic product is expected to contract more this year than since the Great Depression. U.S. businesses are closing, municipal budgets are tightening, banks and other industries are clamoring for bailouts. Recently, some utilities have dramatically lowered their electricity demand estimates and scaled back generation expansion plans from levels forecasted a few months ago. Should utilities continue channeling multibillion-dollar spends pursuing the so-called nuclear renaissance that started a few years ago when the economy was different?
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