WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The release of the Bush energy plan and its goal of energy independence for the U.S. outlined a key role for nuclear energy - the nation's second largest source of electricity.

And no wonder! Nuclear energy plays a crucial role in the nation's diverse mix of electricity sources and our 103 operating nuclear plants provide electricity for one of every five homes.

In addition, nuclear energy is our nation's largest emission-free source of electricity, accounting for more than 69 percent -- more than twice that of hydropower.

Listen to U.S. Senator Pete Domenici speak about the importance of energy supplies and even the most casual follower of recent events in California and the energy sector can understand quickly the troubling situation in which we find ourselves.

"Reliable, affordable electricity is America's lifeblood," Domenici says. "Without it we have no future in terms of prosperity, growth and jobs.

"We cannot afford to lose the nuclear energy option," he warns, "until we are ready to specify with confidence how we are going to replace 22 percent of our electricity with some other source offering comparable safety, reliability, low cost, and environmental attributes."

Domenici observes, quite rightly, that economic growth and electricity are inextricably linked. A nation cannot enjoy the former without the latter.

California, the world's sixth-largest economy, is a case in point. Amid this winter's electricity woes, Intel chief executive Craig Barrett said there was "not a chance" that the state's second-biggest company by market value would expand its California operations. Barrett said that while he judges nuclear energy to be politically incorrect, "Nuclear power is the only answer."

Suffice it to say that just in the few months since Barrett's assessment, nuclear energy has become more politically acceptable.

How else to explain the positive comments of Vice President Richard Cheney and other noteworthy figures as well as the public opinion polls over the past three months that have indicated a favorable reception toward nuclear energy.

Most notably, a recently released statewide Field Poll in California showed that 59 percent of those surveyed support building new nuclear power plants in the state.

The rediscovery of nuclear energy's benefits is heartening and the industry's future is bright because its record of meeting society's electricity needs safely, reliably and economically is unsurpassed.

For the past two years, the 103 reactors that operate in 31 states have produced record amounts of electricity - 755 billion kilowatt-hours in 2000. The industry's average capacity factor - a measurement of efficiency during round-the-clock operation - reached an impressive 90 percent last year. During the 1990s, by operating so efficiently, these same power plants generated the electricity equivalent to adding 22 new, 1,000-megawatt power plants to the electrical grid.

Along with these reliability gains have come economic efficiencies that position nuclear energy as a crucial source of stable, low-priced electricity for consumers and our high-tech economy.

In 1999, the latest period for which full-year data is available from the Utility Data Institute, U.S. nuclear power plants surpassed coal-fired power plants as the leader in low-cost electricity production.

Significantly, the industry's increased generation of affordable electricity has been achieved without building new power plants, preserving land for other uses.

Air-quality concerns; maintaining stable, modest electricity prices; and outstanding plant performance - all these factors are converging to make nuclear energy a vital part of our nation's energy future. As good as that may be for the industry, it's far better for U.S. consumers.

Joe F. Colvin is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Nuclear Energy Institute, the policy organization of the nuclear energy and technologies industry. Readers may write him at NEI, 776 I Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20006-3708. For more information on the promise of today's advanced nuclear energy visit www.nei.org on the worldwide web.