The U.S. is set to become the first nation to decide whether it is safe to operate nuclear power plants for 80 years, twice as long as initially allowed.
The majority of the nation's 99 reactors have already received 20-year extensions to their original 40-year operating licenses.
Now, operators led by Dominion Resources Inc. want to expand the time frame further, potentially creating a precedent for an aging global fleet at a time when the economics of the industry are undergoing dramatic change.