Proportional hazard regression models for point processes: an analysis of nuclear power plant operations in Europe

The safety and reliability of nuclear power have been hotly debated in the last 30 years. Compared with physical outputs of production, such as electricity, safety and reliability are not easily measurable. This paper considers reliability, defined as the hazard of an unplanned shutdown, and addresses the measurability problem by introducing a generalization of Poisson regression models to analyze the occurrence of unplanned shutdowns interrupting operating spells in European nuclear power plants between 1981 and 1986.