Nuclear power was once promoted as "too cheap to meter." Now, a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists is drawing a very different conclusion.

The report, released today, looked at more than 30 government subsidies that support every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. The conclusion: The subsidies exceeded 7 cents per kilowatt-hour, well above the average wholesale price of power from 1960 to 2008.

Says Ellen Vancko, manager of the group's Nuclear Energy and Climate Change Project, says:

"Despite the fact that the nuclear power industry has benefited from decades of government support, the technology is still uneconomic. ... Instead of committing billions in new subsidies that would further distort the market in favor of nuclear power, we should focus on more cost-effective energy sources that will reduce carbon emissions more quickly and with less risk.”

The report says pending and proposed subsidies would shift even more of the financial burden to utility customers and taxpayers.

Union of Concerned Scientists says the Obama budget proposal would provide another $36 billion in federal loan guarantees to underwrite new reactor construction, bringing the total to $58.5 billion. That, the group says, will leave taxpayers on the hook if the industry defaults on these loans.

The 146-page report says key subsidies are difficult to track. That's because they don't involve cash payments, but shifting risks of constructing and operating plants — cost overruns, loan defaults, accidents and waste management — from plant owners and investors to taxpayers and ratepayers.

All of this is a backdrop to the debate going on in Jefferson City where legislators are considering legislation that could pave the way for Ameren Missouri to charge customers about $45 million in costs toward an early site permit for a second nuclear plant in Callaway County.