Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Financial Impact of Nuclear Power Plants...

Allen, Brandt R., ...

Case

Financial Impact of Nuclear Power Plants: FirstEnergy and Davis-Besse

Allen, Brandt R.; Simko, Paul J.; Cross, Tom

C-2232 | Published April 6, 2009 | 6 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

Product Details

In March 2002, during a scheduled refueling outage, workers at FirstEnergy's Davis-Besse nuclear power plant found a football-sized hole in the reactor head caused by boric acid corrosion. Redundant shielding prevented any radiation leakage, but FirstEnergy projected the outage would last two to three months and cost from $15 million to $30 million. Instead, the outage lasted 26 months and cost $588.9 million. Students will learn the financial impact of the event, how investors reacted, and lessons in financial transparency.