[ RadSafe ] Southern Co. Expects Nuclear Loan Agreement By Friday

[blreider at aol.com]

SO is planning to build Westinghouse AP1000 reactors.  Westinghouse Nuclear is owned in part by Toshiba and to a lesser degree by The Shaw Group, Inc.

http://blogs.forbes.com/energysource/2010/02/16/southern-co-westinghouse-win-first-nuke-loan-guarantee/

Barbara Reider, CHP






-----Original Message-----
From: Perle, Sandy <SPerle at mirion.com>
To: 'radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu' <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
Sent: Tue, Jun 15, 2010 7:00 pm
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Southern Co. Expects Nuclear Loan Agreement By Friday


Southern Co. Expects Nuclear Loan Agreement By Friday
hristine Buurma
UNE 15, 2010
he Wall Street Journal
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Southern Co. (SO) is "on track" to meet the Friday 
eadline for accepting a conditional loan guarantee from the federal government 
or two new nuclear reactors at the Vogtle plant in Georgia, a Southern 
pokesman said.
In February, the $14.5 billion Vogtle project became the first new nuclear 
eactors in the U.S. to be awarded a loan guarantee by the Department of Energy. 
nder the loan guarantee program, the government pledges to cover a company's 
ebt obligations if the company defaults on loans used to finance a new nuclear 
ower project. Because building a nuclear power plant is a massive, 
ulti-billion-dollar undertaking, loan guarantees can be key to financing such 
rojects.
"We are on track to meet the deadline and expect to have an agreement," Southern 
pokesman Jason Cuevas said late Monday.
Southern had 90 days to accept the guarantee, but the company was granted a 
0-day extension last month. Although Southern hasn't revealed why an extension 
as needed, other utilities have expressed concern that the government's upfront 
ee for securing credit might be too costly. Utilities have said that in some 
ases, the DOE has proposed a fee as high as 10%. The fee is based partly on an 
ffice of Management and Budget risk calculation that's used to determine the 
ikelihood of loan default.
An Energy Department spokeswoman didn't immediately return a call for comment.
As a large, regulated electric utility with a strong balance sheet, Southern is 
ikely to have a lower credit fee than some of the other companies vying for 
uclear loan guarantees. NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) and UniStar Nuclear Energy, a 
oint venture between Constellation Energy Group (CEG) and French energy giant 
DF (EDF.FR), plan to develop new nuclear reactors on a "merchant" basis, which 
eans the companies can't recover project costs by raising electric rates.
Southern's partners in the Vogtle project, municipal electric utility MEAG Power 
nd public power cooperative Oglethorpe Power, have already accepted their 
ortions of the $8.3 billion loan guarantee.
Southern's share of the guarantee would allow the company to borrow up to $3.4 
illion. The company expects the new reactors to be completed in 2016 and 2017.
The company can't draw on the loan guarantee until the Vogtle project receives a 
ombined construction and operating license from nuclear regulators. Southern 
xpects to receive the license by the end of 2011.
Congress has so far appropriated a total of $18.5 billion for the nuclear loan 
uarantee program, but the Obama administration asked Congress last month to 
pprove $9 billion more for the program.

----------------------------------
ander C. Perle
resident
irion Technologies
osimetry Services Division
652 McGaw Avenue
rvine, CA 92614
+1 (949) 296-2306 (Office)
1 (949) 296-1130 (Fax)
Mirion Technologies: http://www.mirion.com/

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