While coal is more expensive, natural gas plants can still be cheaper for many locations. And older nuclear plants presumably have extremely low ongoing costs (as they don't pay for storage of waste in most countries).
Yes, and since most natural gas plants are fed by pipeline, the subsidies seem designed specifically to exclude natural gas.
This is despite coal stacks freezing during the last polar vortex, causing much of the reduction in resiliency.
(Side note: though many old nuclear plants are still cost competitive, utilities seem to favor fossil fuels to the extent that many if not most of them are at risk of being decommissioned. And in competitive energy markets, many of these old plants can't bid on price any more either, leading to many proposed nuclear-specific subsidies in particular markets.)
