House adopts Matzie resolution recognizing Dec. 2, 2025, as ‘World Nuclear Energy Day’ in Pennsylvania
Rep. Robert F. Matzie December 17, 2025 | 2:43 PM
HARRISBURG, Dec. 17 – The Pennsylvania House today adopted state Rep. Rob Matzie’s resolution designating Dec. 2, 2025, as “World Nuclear Energy Day” in Pennsylvania.
Matzie, chairman of the House Majority Caucus, said he introduced H.R. 372 to highlight the importance of nuclear energy in powering Pennsylvania homes and to recognize the impact of nuclear plants, which contribute more than $2 billion annually to the state’s economy and support nearly 16,000 direct and secondary full-time jobs.
“Nuclear energy is the key to a cleaner, more sustainable and more affordable energy future,” Matzie said. “Spreading awareness of the benefits of nuclear energy is vital to securing that future. That is why World Nuclear Energy Day is so important. I am proud to have sponsored H.R. 372 alongside Representative Tom Mehaffie, and equally proud to serve as co-chair with Representative Mehaffie and Senators John Kane and Lynda Culver of the Pennsylvania Nuclear Energy Caucus. We will continue, in a bipartisan fashion, to support nuclear energy as a safe, proven solution to the capacity challenges we face moving forward.”
The date was selected to mark the anniversary of the first human-made, self-sustaining, controlled nuclear chain reaction, conducted under the direction of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Enrico Fermi on Dec. 2, 1942. That achievement paved the way for nuclear energy to power homes and businesses around the world.
The first commercial nuclear reactor, located in Shippingport, Beaver County, went online on the same date 15 years later.