As per media reports, six utility companies, the owners of 26 nuclear plants have been issued notice by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission about scarcity of funds to dismantle the reactors, which are not being operated.
 
The scarcity of funds ranged from $12 million to $204 million for each of the 26 reactors.  

The six utility companies which have been notified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission include Exelon Corp, Entergy Corp, Constellation Energy Group Inc, First Energy Service Co LTD, Tennessee Valley Authority and FPL Group.

According to an NRC spokesman Scott Burnell, the number in arrears is more than usual and it needs to be "resolved in the near future".

An FPL spokesman assured that his company is steadfast to its responsibility of saving funds for dismantling of the reactors, which are not in use, but he blamed market conditions for the short-fall of funds.

As per current estimates, the cost of dismantling reactors has increased by more than $4.6 billion due to rising energy and labor costs. On the other hand, the funds that are supposed to pay for dismantling these plants have lost $4.4 billion in the battered stock market.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires decommissioning funds to use them for the dismantling of the non-operating reactors.